Choosing Sides
by Walmartshoplifter
Summary: Two of the X-Men are kidnapped by mysterious assailants when an unlikely friend comes to their aid... for a price. Read and Review (Let the ROMYness begin! A little bit of Lancitty, Jott and Jonda.) COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I know I had you all fooled but guess what, I don't own any of these characters!

This is just the first chapter, read it and review it, let me know you love me! It's my first Fan fic so all comments are greatly appreciated!

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            Jean and Scott sat hand in hand on the edge of the dock at the lake on the property of the Xavier Institute. Scott admired her as she lifted up her chin and closed her eyes to take in the scent of the lake. Her skin glowed a pale blue in the moonlight. Scott's adoring gaze was broken by her graceful voice.

            "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

            "Yeah, it is." he said, looking down at her slender fingers, tangled with is own. When he looked up, Jean's bright green eyes were on his face. The corners of her lips turned up in a quiet smile. The cool, late spring breeze gently tousled her fiery red hair.

            "It's so quiet." she said.

            "It's perfect" he whispered back. He raised his hand to her cheek and she closed her eyes at the feeling of his warm, protective hand. She touched the part of his neck where it met his shoulder. She opened her eyes to smooth out a wrinkle in his dark blue sweater. He gently began to move closer to her, and she shut her eyes in anticipation. She eagerly awaited this moment that they'd both been longing for practically since they'd met, but seemed real only since he'd been abandoned in the desert in Mexico and she'd found him scared, alone, blind, and tired. She was the only person who was ever able to really make him feel safe. 

            Suddenly, a rustle came from the bushes behind them. Scott quickly opened his eyes and turned away.

            "Kurt!" he shouted, "Is there no privacy?!"

            "Scott!" Jean announced quickly, "It's not Kurt." She closed her eyes, furrowed her brow and touched her forehead. "It's not Kitty either."

            "Who is it?"

            "I don't know; something's blocking my telepathy." The two stood up and moved slowly to try and run. Jean took two steps back as a shadowy figure appeared behind her. 

            "Jean!" Scott shouted trying to warn her. She spins around to see a purple, glowing fist. The rest of her assailant is covered by a hooded robe. Reacting quickly, Jean used her telekinesis to lift her opponent into the air. Scott squats at attention, ready to lift his red shades to uncase his optic blast. 

            "Scott, wait!" she turned and waved her hand at him to back off, but the floating attacker launches the purple aura. 

            "Jean!" Scott shouted. He couldn't blast it since she was standing directly in his way. Her reaction comes too slowly as it hits her in the back of the head. She is knocked unconscious and the intruder falls to the ground. 

            "Ouch!" a very feminine voice lets out from behind the shadows. Scott is thrown aback at the softness of the attacker, when he ears a voice right next to ear. 

            "Listen to my voice, Cyclops," a sudden rush of pain rises up from the base of his neck. "Listen to Vertigo." The bottom of his stomach drops to nowhere. The scenery in front of him begins to spin, faster and faster until it all turns black. He slumps to the ground. "The boy's a light weight" The girl says with pride.

            "Funny, Vertigo." The first, hooded attacker said.

            "No, really, you see how fast he went down?" The girl had long blond hair with stripes of green in it. She wore a tank top with swirly blue and green stripes and a short white skirt.

            "It was probably because he saw your face." Her voice had a distinct English accent.

            "Shut up, Psylocke." Vertigo snapped back.

            "Where is Slab?" The still masked Psylocke asked.

            "Hmmmm… I dunno," Vertigo looked around, "Slab!" she called out.

            Psylocke smacked her in the arm, "Shut up! We don't know if any other X-Goons are around. We're not that far from the house you know. And it sounded like they were expecting someone." 

            Suddenly the bushes they had been hiding in began to rustle. The two girls slowly moved into attack position. Then out of the bushes rises a giant, muscular, bald man.

            "Slab here." The man said. The two girls relaxed. 

            "It's about time." Vertigo hissed, "We can't exactly carry these two by ourselves." The big man moved in and slung Jean and Scott over each shoulder. The two girls barley came up to his chest. The three began to walk away. Psylocke looked back at Scott's face. His sun glasses began to fall off. "Leave 'em." Vertigo insisted. They came up to some brush hiding a small plane.

            "But what if--" Psylocke began.

            "If you're so worried, give him a psionic knife to the neck to make sure he stays out till we get him back to the doc." Vertigo asserted. Psylocke grumbled as her hand glowed purple again. She pushed it into the back of his Scott's neck. He grumbled but quickly went silent. Slab and Vertigo kept walking, but Psylocke turned back to get grab his glasses. She put them in a pocket in her robe then ran back to catch up. 

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*BAMF!*

In a cloud of black sulphurous smoke, the fuzzy blue Kurt appears in the middle of Rogue and Kitty's room. Rogue began coughing.

"Kurt!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Sorry." He shrugged his shoulders.

            "Kurt, Ah was tryin to get some sleep!" Rogue bursted.

            "Yeah, Kurt, Rogue, like, totally isn't feeling good."

            "Oh no," a concerned expression warms over his face, "mein sister, I didn't know you weren't feeling well. Vhat can I do to help?"

            "You can get out, er yer gonna get to know all about sibling rivalry." Rogue retorted.

            "Jeez mahn, I vas just trying to help," Kurt whined in his German accent. "Hey, Kitty, I think I just saw Scott and Jean sneak off to the lake!"

            "Oh man, we are so there!" Kitty giggled giddily as Kurt put his three fingered hands on her shoulders.

*BAMF!*

            "Ah thought they'd never leave." Rogue grumbled to herself as she turned off the light on the dresser and jumped into bed. 

*          *          *          

*BAMF!*

Kitty and Kurt teleported into the bushes behind the dock, slowly becoming a hiding place for the whole world.

            "Like, where are they?" Kitty said as she poked her head out of the brush.

            "I know I saw zem come out here." Kurt replied as he reached his prehensile tail up to a low branch and swung himself into the open and began to walk down the dock.

            "Oh my gosh! Kurt, look!!" Kitty yelled as she pointed to Logan lying on the ground. He was grumbling as he managed to raise himself to his hands and knees.

            "Logan, are you alvight?" Kurt said as he ported to Logan's side.

            "Ugh… Elf?" he moaned.

            "What happened?" Kitty screeched.

            "Not so loud, half-pint. I got a splitting headache." The two kids helped the burly man to his feet.

            "Whoa," Kitty said, "Like, who could knock you out for that long?"

            "Ya, is Sabretooth here or somezing?" Kurt anxiously looked around for any sign of the lion/man.

            "No, it was a samurai. She attacked me from behind while I was doing my nightly watch on the grounds."

            "A samurai? Aren't you trained as a ninja?" Kitty interjected.

            "Ya, couldn't you take him down?" Kurt said.

            "My head still hurts Elf, and no, _she_ was trained… well. Then she hit me in the back of the head with something and I was out."

            "What about your healing factor?" Kurt inquired.

            "I don't know what she hit me with." Logan continued to moan each time he spoke.

            "Um… hey, guys…" Kitty interrupted, "where are Scott and Jean?"

            "Scott and Jean?" Logan asked back. He then began to sniff the air and followed his nose the edge of the dock. "Their scent is cold. She took 'em, and she wasn't alone." He followed the trace of the abductors then he stopped when Kurt interrupted him.

            "Ve should get back to ze professor." he said.

            "You two go ahead," Logan said, "I'm gonna see if I can sniff out any more clues." With that message from his superior, Kurt put a hand on Kitty's shoulder.

*BAMF!*

Logan nursed his throbbing head as he followed the assailants' tracks up to where the plane had been hidden. Then he walked back up to the mansion. 


	2. Chapter 2

I own none of these characters, I promise.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, it's such a relief to know that people are listening to me!

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            Scott's eyes flickered open. He saw a pretty, smiling comforting face. Hey eyes were slender, Asian. Her dark purple hair hung low over her shoulders, framing her face.

            "Good morning, sleeping beauty." She murmured to him in a familiar accented voice. Suddenly Scott noticed he was colors he hadn't seen in a long time. A pure white ceiling and walls, the brownish tint of girl's face, the blue tables he and Jean had been pinned to, and the silver implements sitting on trays in the room. All of this in the quick glimpse Scott was able to get before he instinctively realized he wasn't wearing his rose quartz shades. He rapidly clenched his eyes shut. The smile on the corners of the girl's lips turned down. "It's alright, Scott." she said.

             "I need my glasses."

            "No, Cyclops. The collar on your neck, it dampens your powers… You can open your eyes, Scott." He slowly opened one of his eyes and looked around the room. He saw the girl's smiling face yet again. Once he determined it was safe, he opened his other eye. He looked over at Jean. She was pinned down to an operating type table with metal cuffs at her wrists and ankles. She was also wearing a thick electronic collar with a blinking red light, just like him. She, on the other hand, was still unconscious.  She looked to him like a sleeping angel, but she was in trouble.  

            "Why hasn't she woken up?" he barked at the friendly aid sitting beside his table.

            "Well, I imagine that without her telepathy, it's as if we've dropped her in the middle of nowhere without her compass. It's a good deal more difficult, but she'll still find her way back. I'll do everything in my power to help her. I promise I won't let anyone hurt either of you if you'll quiet down." Scott's fists unclenched and he began to relax. "I'm Psylocke… er… well… Elizabeth Braddock. My friends call me Betsy, but nobody's called me that since my friend got out of here two years ago." The two paused as Scott contemplated everything she'd said.

            "Why do you want to help us?" he finally said to Betsy, with suspicion.

            "You two and your X-Men are going to help me escape."

            "Why didn't you just bolt when you were free last night?"

            "Please," Betsy remarked, "Vertigo and Slab would've squashed me like a bug if I tried to run. You X-Men, on the other hand… you're quite the force to be reckoned with if I must say. And I know about your little credo there, and I knew that you all would help me." The words tumbled off her tongue with British sophistication. The corners of Scott's lips turned up as he took in what she said. 

            "So, Betsy, what exactly are your powers?" She reveled as Scott spoke her name. She loved the sound of her name. It had been so long since anyone cared to get to know her well enough to say it. It made her feel human again. It gave her purpose… jut to hear it again, and she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. 

            "Well, Scott, my powers are quite finicky." Betsy said with a smile, "I'm a rather well developed telepath. Nothing new to you, I suppose, but then I've got this other thing."  She raised her fist and it began to develop the purple aura Scott had seen the night before.

            "What is that?" He said in awe. The glow was hypnotizing.

            "To be perfectly honest," she continued, "I'm not really sure." She looked away from her luminescent hand and back at Scott's innocent brown eyes. Then she looked back at her hand. "I call them my psionic knives or daggers." He raised an eyebrow at her. "I believe it's a channeling of my telepathic power."

            "So those knives are composed of complete thought?" Scott asked. Betsy smiled as the glow in her hand dissipated.

            "Yeah… imagine that," she had never thought of it like that before and it led her to other conclusions. "Guess that little laser beam of yours wouldn't do much against these babies." she said waving her fist. The two smiled. 

            Suddenly Vertigo burst into the room. Betsy, shocked, quickly wiped the smile from her face and turned to stare at her. "The doctor wants you to get them ready." Vertigo announced.

            "Uh… right" Betsy muttered. Vertigo looked at her like she had just caught two kids making out in the janitors closet. She thought Betsy looked like a deer caught in headlights.

            "What have you been up to, Psylocke?"

            "Nothing," Betsy barked defensively, "just tending to the new test subjects, that's all."

            "TEST SUBJECTS?!?" Scott shouted from behind her.

            "_I'll explain as soon as she leaves." She responded to his anxiety telepathically. He relaxed a little, but his face was still composed of worry and vexation as he watched the two girls interact._

            "Why hasn't that one woken up yet?" Vertigo gestured to the still unconscious Jean Grey. "Sinister is gonna be pissed off if finds out you killed the Phoenix." Vertigo crossed her arm and drew a cocky smile across her face.

            "I didn't kill her," Betsy pleaded, "she's just rather dependant on her telepathy. I'll make sure she wakes up before the doctor arrives." 

            "Whatever." Vertigo said as she left the room.

            Betsy once again heard a scared voice from behind her. "Betsy, what's going on?" Her calm, comforting face became worried as she pondered just how to explain the truth to her new friend.

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            Logan leaned over the fire place, becoming lost in the dancing flames as he waited. He was waiting for the only man he could trust to never try to kill him. It was just as he began to forget about all that had plagued him throughout his life that his gaze was broken by the sound of wheels scurrying across the carpet of the large study that could pass as a library to most.

            "I've brought you some aspirin," the bald man in the wheel chair said. Although he was reduced to a paraplegic, his presence hovered high over the tall, Canadian man.

            "Thanks, Charles." Logan said as he turned away from the fire place and took the two pills and cup of water from Professor Xavier's hand. "Have you found the kids yet?"

            "Unfortunately, I can't find a trace they've ever existed." He paused as he pondered. "I have begun to put a team together to go rescue them, however. We'll just have to wait until cerebro finds something."

            "How did the intruders get on the grounds without tripping cerebro's surveillance system?" Logan's deep, scratchy voice inquired.

            "I suspect there was something greater at work here, someone who knows a lot about the institute, and all of us." His voice became solemn and he began to wheel out of the room. "Go lie down Logan; we'll need you to shake off that headache." 

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Kitty dashed into her bedroom and was shocked to see Rogue still awake. "Oh, hey, Rogue," she said, "I thought you were like, going to sleep or something?"

            "Ah can't sleep." Rogue replied. She was sitting up in bed writing in her diary. "What 'er y'all up to?" She asked as Kitty was changing into her X-Men uniform.

            "Scott and Jean have been kidnapped. The prof. wants us to be ready to go at a moment's notice… as soon as he can find them on cerebro. 

            "Oh…" Rogue mumbled. Then there was a knock on the door.

            "Who is it?" Kitty shouted.

            "It's me, Kitty," She heard the professor say, "I'd like to speak with Rogue for a moment."

            "Oh, sure professor." Kitty said as she slipped on her last boot, "Just a sec." As she zipped up the zipper on her uniform, she walked the door to open it. She found the professor was sitting directly in front of her. "Catch ya later, Rogue." She said as she phased through the professor on her way out. He winced at her as she made her way down the hall; he hated it when she did that.

            "How are you feeling, Rogue?" He asked in a calm, soothing voice as he wheeled into the room and made his way through the piles of clothes and books on the floor to Rogues bedside. 

            "Ah dunno." She mumbled like a sick child trying to get out of going to school.

            "I know your mind is as strong now as it's ever been. Maybe it's time you start to get beck into the routine of daily life." He suggested.

            "Well…"

            "I don't understand? Why are you hesitating?" He wouldn't fall over at her reluctance.

            "Ah dunno… ah guess…" She paused. Sometimes she wished he would read her mind so she didn't have to admit the truth aloud. "Ah guess… ah guess ah'm just scared now…" she trailed off.

            "I'm not sure I understand?" Xavier pushed the girl to expound on her feelings.

            "Well, ah'm scared 'bout touchin' someone now, more 'n ever. What if it all builds up in mah head again and go crazy again? What if ah actually hurt someone this tahm?" The professor was startled at her feelings, but not shocked.

            "Rogue, in the whole time I've had the pleasure of knowing you, you've never been scared of who you are." He paused to give a chance to absorb what he was saying. "But after all that's happened to you recently, I can understand how you'd feel that way." She smiled knowing that wasn't being chided for her fears. "But Rogue, this is a place, and time, to overcome your fears. To prove to yourself that you're stronger than your powers, that you are in control." Rogue humored the man with a smile even though he said the exact opposite of what she wanted to hear. "You know I'm not going to force you to do anything, but your presence and support would be greatly appreciated."

            "Ah'll think about it." She responded.

            "Well, you've got plenty of time; we can't go anywhere until we know where we're going." He was almost all the way out of the room as he said, "If you want to talk at all, I'll be in my study."

            "Thanks, Professor." She said as he disappeared. She thought about how kind and generous he was to her, how kind they all were. Kitty was the only girlfriend she had that hadn't betrayed her yet, Kurt was her only family member that wanted nothing more from her than to smile or chuckle at him once in a while. Then she thought about all the trouble she'd caused them since her powers manifested, and all they ever wanted to do was help her. Before she knew it, she was standing at her dresser, rummaging through the drawers for the uniform she hadn't worn in a long time.    


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, this is a long one… maybe that means I'm a good writer!! That's what my English teacher thinks anyway… the longer the better! Thanks to you guys who have been reading and reviewing!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, but I do partially own this story line… about 70/30 I own it/marvel owns it… no wait… more like 80/20 so yeah, if you want to use this story, Marvel, you have to pay me!!

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"Betsy, what's going on?" Scott asked her again, "what is this place?"

"I told you I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, and I mean it." Betsy's British accent enforced the sternness of what she was saying.

"Why would anyone want to hurt us?" His voice went from the strong leader of the X-Men to a scared little boy. Betsy demeanor slowed down. Talking about this place scared her. Saying it all aloud turned it from a creepy horror movie to the reality of everyday. She tried to sugar coat it in her head, but decided the best thing to do was be objective. They would never be able to help her the way she needed if they felt so sorry for her.

"This… is the laboratory of Dr. Nathaniel Essex. He knows more about mutants from a scientific perspective than anyone on the planet; especially heredity. He performs genetic experiments on mutants, and for some reason he has taken a particular interest in you two." She picked up a bowl of cereal and attempted to feed Scott. "Here," she said raisin a full spoon to his mouth. He refused to eat, "he's probably going to draw your blood, you need to eat something." 

"Why does he want us? What is he going to do?" he said refusing the spoon again.

"I'm not sure really," Betsy said, "but I won't let him hurt you."

"Why are you here then, if he's so terrible?" This was the question she had been dreading. She was afraid that going into her life here would make her cry, and this was no time to be weak. She decided not to say too much, just what he needed to know in order to trust her.

  "Well… my life was a mess when I came here. I had no idea what a mutant was… I learned the same time the rest of world did, it's how he tricked me into coming here. I was hearing people's thoughts in my head; I thought I was going mad. He said he was the only one who could help me, so I came. He began to perform unnecessary surgeries on me, said he was fixing me. I had a friend here though, he felt the same as I did; that there was no where else we could go. It was just us against the world." Halfway changing the subject to a happier issue helped her keep the tears back. "Then a man made us both the same offer. I thought he was crazy, but my friend saw it as his way out. I wish I'd gone with him. I now he's in trouble though. He needs my help…" she was beginning to get worked up and the tears began to surface beyond her control. She looked back at, the more worried than ever, Scott, and she remembered that she had to be tough. She decided to get back closer to the topic. "It was all I could do, joining the Nasty Boys, to stop the experiments." She looked at her hands folded in her lap. She could feel Scott's eyes on her, waiting to see how he should respond. The amount of tears behind her eyes, she knew, would cause him to feel pity for her, and that was the last thing she wanted. Once she was able to blink back the salt water in her eyes she looked back at Scott.

"I'm sorry." He said. Betsy just gave him a tired smile to show her appreciation for his caring words, but he knew she didn't mean it. 

"I'd better wake your friend before Sinister comes in here." She got up and dumped the bowl of cereal, that she had set down on the table filled with surgical implements, in the sink and washed the mushy food down the drain.

"What are Sinister's powers?" Scott asked her. She flinched at his name and glanced over her shoulder at Scott, then back to the task at hand.

"He has complete control over every single cell in his body." She spoke with bitter resentment in her voice. "He's nearly indestructible. He's well over 150 years old, you know. His mutation allows him to mimic your friend Logan's powers. Not to mention he can shoot blasts of plasma energy from his hands, and his minor telepathy." Scott paused to consider the man's awesome power as Betsy walked in between the two tables holding Scott and Jean, and looked down at the fiery redhead. "I'm going to need some quiet." She said without looking back at Scott. He only nodded but Betsy could sense his response. She placed her hand on Jean's forehead and closed her eyes. Betsy is buckles as she is slightly overwhelmed at first, until her butterfly signature emanates from between her eyes. Releasing the butterfly seems to help her as her body becomes more relaxed. The insect hovered over Jean for a second or two, than took a nose dive right between her eyes, jumping into the girl's head.

(A/N: the following takes place inside Jean's head until it says otherwise)

Jean sat on the green grass just outside the front steps of the Xavier Institute. She enjoyed taking in the scene just as she had at the dock the night before. Suddenly the same shadowy figure from the night before hovered behind her. 

"Jean?" The hooded robe called to her, alerting her of her presence.

"Leave me alone. I'm happy here. It's quiet." Jean said without opening her eyes, much less turning her head.

"What about Scott?" Betsy asked from the shadows. Jean opened her eyes as she thought for a moment. She quickly got up and turned around to stand face to hooded face with Betsy.

"What have you done with him?" She shouted in anger

"Jean," Betsy replied trying to calm her down, but Jean just ignored her.

"What have you done with him?! If you've hurt him--" Jean moved closer to Betsy and she put her hands up in defense.

"Jean," Betsy said again and again. Jean continued to ignore Betsy, Jean's temper was flaring out of control.

"Where is he?!" Jean yelled as she shoved at Betsy's robed shoulders. The heavy cloak fell to the ground. Out of the hood a small purple and blue butterfly fluttered out and Jean was noticeably startled. "Wh- wh-," she stuttered.

"Please Jean, don't be alarmed," the butterfly responded. "My appearance has changed so drastically that this is the form my mind takes despite my physicality." Jean was more relaxed, but still wary of a talking butterfly, with a British accent.

"Wh- what about Scott?" Jean continued from her last attempt at a sentence.

"For now, both of you are alright, but you're still in danger." She pauses, "I need your help to secure all our safety. I need you to comeback to consciousness with me." 

"Why do I want to help you?" Jean muttered.

"Because I know who you are, and I know you'd never turn away someone who needs your help." The butterfly continued to furiously flap its wings while she waited for Jean to respond.

"So, you want to be an X-Man?" She said thinking of her responsibilities, helping to recruit mutants. 

"Um… well… for now I just need your help to escape." Again, she waited for Jean to respond, but she just nodded sheepishly. "So you'll help me? You'll come back with me?" the butterfly confirmed. Jean nodded again. Just then, Betsy could feel her butterfly self being sucked out of Jean's head. The force knocked her real self back on to the floor. She banged the back of her head against the table Scott was pinned to. While Betsy reeled from the transition, Scott watched Jean as she blinked her eyes open. She looked up at Scott and she smiled. He smiled back. 

"I'm so glad you're alright" Scott said to his beloved.

"Me too." She said back with the same peacefulness in her voice as the night before. She suddenly realized, though, that Scott wasn't wearing his glasses, but his eyes were open. "Scott, what happened to your powers?"

"The collars, they negate them." He responded bitterly.

"How will the professor find us?" Jean whined.

"You let me handle that." Betsy injected as she stood up, breaking Scott and Jean's gaze. She continued to nurse the throbbing sensation on the back of her head. She turned to Scott. "She's a handful, that one." She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder at Jean.

"What do you need from us?" Jean said as Betsy turned to answer the question to both of them.

"You two happy little campers and mind your manners, alright?" Betsy said.

"What?" Scott exclaimed, "Where are you going?" 

"Look, the doctor likes a private workspace so he can torture you without making himself look bad to his followers. I've been his patient before, I know how it works, don't worry. Like I said before I won't let anyone hurt you. He's just going to do some preliminary things: taking blood pressure and what not. He might even want you to exercise your powers."

"Oh, then cerebro will be able to locate us!" Jean interrupted.

"Um… well… no actually." Betsy continued, "The whole laboratory is psi-proof. No telepath is getting in here unless he sets foot in." Betsy looked at Jean, and then looked back at Scott. "Don't you worry; I'll contact your professor. And if Sinister does release your powers, **obey him**. Last night has proven that you two are no match for the Nasty Boys, and that wasn't all of them. So, just do what you're told, alright?" Betsy took a breath as Scott and Jean nodded, wide-eyed. Suddenly the door burst open.

"How are my newest specimens doing this evening?" The deep, echoey, scratchy, mocking voice made Betsy wince. 

"They're quite well." Betsy said as she smiled through her teeth, trying to keep up her façade. "They're going to behave themselves, I assure you, doctor."

"Ah, wonderful job then, Miss Braddock." He stepped forward out of the shadows after removing his coat and switching it with a typical doctor's white lab coat. In the light, his skin was revealed to be the came color as the coat, his eyes were burning red. The man rivaled Magneto in intimidating stature. He sat down in the seat Betsy had occupied for the better part of the day and slipped on his white latex gloves with a snap on the wrist that always makes people cringe. 

"Will that be all, Dr. Essex?" Betsy said trying to relieve some of his intimidating momentum.

"Yes, Miss Braddock, you are dismissed." Betsy began to leave the room. As she shut the door behind herself, she could hear Sinister say, "Are you two ready for your physical?" She could picture the mad scientist's evil smirk revealing his fanged, yellow teeth. The mere thought of the man drudged up horrifying memories and sent a chill down her spine. She made her way through the corridors of the fortress to a small door that led to a smaller courtyard, which only Sinister's most loyal had access to. The courtyard was formed by three walls of the building jutting inward. The fourth wall was bricked up so high that Betsy couldn't see anything but the dimming, dusk sky over it. 

Her gaze was interrupted by a drip on her head. She patted at the liquid, then looked at her hand. It was pinkish, purplish, goo. She instantly knew what it was. 

"George, are you spying on me?" Betsy called as she looked up. There was a slender man with pinkish hair wearing a trench coast the came color as the goo. This also happened to be the same color as his skin. He was wrapped around a tree branch above her head.

"The name is _Gorgeous George." He called back to her, and his legs, also wrapped around the tree, stretched all the way down to the ground, in front of Betsy. He let the branch slide right through his body, slicing him half as he unstretched his legs, bringing himself to the ground. He stood in front of Betsy in two, symmetrical halves. He looked up at her with a smirk as the rift between his two halves sealed itself up. "That felt good." he said as he licked his lips. Betsy cringed like she was a watching an appendectomy surgery._

"Maybe if you _acted gorgeous…" she said. She waited for him to leave, but he continued to stare at her. "Can I have some privacy?" she finally barked at him. His creepy smirk turned a frown as he began to walk back toward the door. When George shut the door behind himself, Betsy looked around to try and sense the presence of anyone else. When she decided she was alone, and safe, she shut her eyes and began to concentrate._

Blue and purple rays began to emanate from between Betsy's eyes. The rays began to form a butterfly again. Betsy crossed her exposed arms, as she felt a chill come over her in her skimpy, purple bathing suit type, uniform. She wore thigh high purple boots, with two random stripes of material on her upper thighs and upper arms near her shoulders. She also wore long purple gloves that came to a point on the back of her hand and wrapped around her middle fingers, matching the uniform and her hair. Although she was rather well covered, the material was thin and skanky.

The cold was causing her to lose her focus, but cuddling up helped her regain her concentration. A butterfly was finally able to form itself outside of her head. It fluttered up the height of the wall and was quickly out of sight of the prison she lived in. She had desperately wished so many times that she could be the butterfly that so gracefully made its way far, far away from this place. She tried hard to concentrate on the task at hand, but couldn't help feeling that next time it might actually be her breathing the fresh air of freedom.      


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for reading an reviewing, Keep it up! And by the way, I still don't own X-men.

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            Professor Charles Xavier sat in his study with a cup of tea and a book. Although he's an intellectual man, he found it difficult to focus on the book. He persisted to check cerebro's alarm system every minute and a half or so, to make sure his own technology hadn't failed him. He wished that it had, meaning his first two students were safe, just spending some alone time together, rather than having been abducted by who know what and taken to who knows where. The feeling of uncertainty rattled him more anything else. Xavier was a man who found solace only in control. Now, control was something he had very little of.

            It wasn't that he loved Scott and Jean more than the others; he couldn't imagine such a thing was possible. He was worried that his tutelage had failed them. Had he trained them correctly, he thought, they wouldn't have been taken. Being his first two students, he'd trained them more than any of the others, and if they couldn't get themselves out of any situation, then none of his students would be able to. He thought that if he had built cerebro correctly, they would have been found and rescued by now. His head filled with self doubt and blame. His thoughts were interrupted as the statuesque, white haired, but young, black woman entered the room. She carried a tray of food in her hands.

            "I brought you something to eat, Charles." Ororo said in a calm, soothing voice.

            "Thank you, Storm. Just leave it here on the desk." The professor said, gesturing towards the large table in front of him.

            "Charles, you must be exhausted. Maybe you should go lie down for a while." She spoke to him like a mother.

            "I won't be able to rest until they're back home… safe." He protested.

            "Scott and Jean are two very capable people. I'm sure that wherever they are, they're completely safe." She asserted. "You should take a break, maybe just take a breath of fresh air for a little while. I'll stay here and watch cerebro. I'll let you know if anything happens."

            "Alright," he relented, "Perhaps a break would help me refresh my mind…" She nodded to him as he made his way outside. It was dark now, 24 hours since Scott and Jean had gone missing. 

     Charles sat outside, admiring the stars. He thought maybe there were answers up there… comfort. He thought about Rogue's troubled mind, Ororo's losing her nephew to the Morlocks. He thought about Logan and his haunting past. He thought about Kitty and Kurt suffering everyday at school at the hands of a scared and confused public. Then he thought of his friend Eric. The only time's they'd met recently, to fight along side one another, was when the world was in desperate danger. Then he thought about his inability to stop any of it. Not being able to do anything left a hole in Xavier's chest the size of the Grand Canyon. The more he thought, the more he realized his self deprecating thoughts were helping no one. His reverie was interrupted as a butterfly fluttered in his face. He merely brushed it away with his hand and continued past him.

            "Oh! Professor Xavier!" he heard a small British voice call from behind him. He turned his chair around to see where the voice had come from, but all he could see was the odd, purplish-blue butterfly hovering in front of him. "Professor Xavier?" Charles thought he must have been going crazy because he thought the butterfly had addresses him. "Don't be alarmed," the voice was distinctly feminine with a strong English accent. "I'm not a talking butterfly" the butterfly said, reading the professor's confusion, "this is just a mental projection of myself… I'm telepathic."

            "Interesting…" was all the professor could stammer out.   

            "Yes… I'm sure it is…" Betsy's butterfly responded wearily. She waited but the look of shock never left Xavier's face. "Right," the butterfly continued on, "I know where Scott and Jean are." His expression turned from amazement to utter worry.

            "Where are they? What have you done with them?" Charles accused.

            "Calm down, they're alright, I promise. Dr. Essex has taken them to perform some kind of genetic experiment. They have yet to be harmed, but I'm sure how long it will last. You must come quickly; I'll give you the coordinates." The professor stopped looking at Betsy like a butterfly and more like a person now.

            "Follow me inside, and we'll talk." He said to the butterfly. The insect fluttered after him as he wheeled indoors.  

*          *          *

            Ororo and Hank sat in the professor's study, manning cerebro. Hank read a book while Ororo read the daily newspaper. She was reading a story about an upcoming anti-mutant rally in her community. The organizers slanderous comments began to the better of her. She'd them all before. People had been calling the mansion recently, after they'd all been exposed, looking for statements or just to be yelled at. They all came flooding back to her at once. The was the straw that began to break the camel's back. She crumpled up the paper in her hand as her pupils began to glow white. She got up and the wind outside began to whistle. With each step she took toward the raging fire place, there was a crack of thunder and lightening. Hank had put his book down and set his reading glasses on the table as he watched her. She was hypnotizing to watch when she used her power. Her control and stamina made her radiate with power. 

            "Ororo…" Hank said sternly, trying to avert her attention. She remained unphased as she drew back her arm. She hurled the ball of newspaper at the fire as the whirling winds blew the large bay windows open. The thin paper was instantly engulfed with another crack of thunder. Hank was a burly, hiary man, and he could have easily overcome the woman, but his complacent demeanor left him afraid of her as her emotions ruled her power. He was thrown aback when the weather witch turned to him and yelled.

            "Why are they doing this?" Storm screamed at the Beast. "They've forced normal mutant people from their homes and burned them down, they're beating innocent people in the streets… they've forced Evan underground…" She continued to yell at him through tears. "Why are we doing this? Why are we fighting for them?" Hank cautiously walked over to Ororo as the violent thunderstorm outside had turned into a less intimidating, steady down pour. He put his big furry arms around her and pat her on the back as she cried on his shoulder like it was pillow. 

            "they're scared, Storm. Just like you are. We're fighting to show them that there is nothing to be afraid of. It's like a young child that just heard aout the Boogie Man. It will take some time before they can live peacefully knowing there's nothing in the closet or under the bed to fear." His voice was calming and she smiled at his immature analogy.

            "Is that Freud?" He chuckled back at her, as she sniffed her nose. "Well, I guess I can understand them… you do look like the Boogie Man." She wiped her face.  "I guess this whole thing with Scott and Jean has me on the edge… more than I thought. Thank you, Hank… for uh, letting me snap."

            "It's alright Ororo, we're all on edge. Just because people expect you to keep your composure through anything doesn't mean you can." The beatly man smiled at her and the rain outside began to lift.

*          *          *

            "Look who's come back to ze land of ze living!" Kurt shouted as he saw Rogue coming down the stairs. Kitty, sitting next to Kurt on the sofa in front of the TV, snapped her head around.

            "Oh, you're coming with us? I thought you weren't feeling well?" Kitty said as she notice Rogue was wearing her unniform.

            "Ah changed mah mahnd… Ah'm feelin' better now." Shem mumbled as she walked past the two and sat in the chair next to the couch.

            "I'm so glad you're coming with us!" Kitty squealed as Kurt stuffed his mouth with popcorn he held in his prehensile tail. "I was totally not looking forward to a mission with all a' these guys." Kurt looked offended. "Hey, you look totally bummed… are you sure you're feeling okay?" Kitty felt concerned as she noticed her friend's gloomy expression that looked more pensive than her gloomy looks usually did.

            "Bummed?… Ah'm not bummed." Rogue replied defensively. "What are you? A mahnd reader er somethin'?"

            "Now I know something's up!" Kitty said.

            "Ya, Rogue, we're your friends. Tell us… vhat's wrong?" Kurt interjected. Rogue looked up at her brother and couldn't resist his blue, furry, puppy dog eyes.

            "Well, Ah've still got some memories from the Acolytes." She replied glumly.

            "Ooooh… anything good?" Kitty asked, looking for gossip. Kurt elbowed her in the ribs.

            "Anysing ve should tell ze professor?" Kurt asked responsibly

            "Ah dunno… the problem is, is that's it's memories of lahk, families an' stuff. Hobbies… fears…"

            "Ewww… no way. They're bad guys. They don't have families, they don't have hobbies, and the only thing they should be afraid of is us!" Kitty explained. 

            "Ah know, that's the problem. One of 'em has an over protective aunt, and one has a little sister he adores, an' one used to be best friends with Lance."

            "Lance?" Kitty interrupted. "Lance used to be best friends with an Acolyte? Which one?"

            "Ah'm not sure… when Apocalypse took the rest of y'alls psyches, the memories got kinda jumbled; but he's afraid that Lance doesn't even remember him. And, now that he's found his friend, he;s afraid Lance won't want anything to do with 'im." Kitty looked fearfully at the floor. "an' those eyes… red and black…" Rogue trailed off, her eyes fixed in a trance.

            "_X-Men._" The professor's voice interrupted their thoughts, "_meet me in my study, I've located Scott and Jean."_

*          *          *

            Ororo and Hank stood up when the professor entered the study, accompanied by Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, and Logan. "Charles, nothing came up on cerebro?" Storm was curious as to how the professor found the missing mutants without using the mutant locator. Maybe his lack sleep had gotten to his head.

            "One of last night's assailants, Betsy Braddock… the one who attacked you, Logan, she's a telepath. She contacted me just before the sudden storm." He flashed a look back at Ororo, than continued to all of them. "She has agreed to help us if we help her. She needs to escape as well. They have been taken to the genetic laboratory of a Dr. Nathaniel Essex, just outside of Seattle."

            "So this girl wants to be an X-Man?" Logan grunted. The professor pondered his question.

            "She never mentioned that… just that she wants to flee this man as well. We must leave immediately."


	5. Chapter 5

This is a really long chapter!! Just so you know, I really suck at writing fight scenes... just stick with me, that story is about to get good. I promise.

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            Betsy sat on a bench in the small courtyard. She was cold outside in her skimpy uniform; the north western air was always cold with a possibility of rain. Despite this, she couldn't bear to go inside and hear the screams of the specimens in the cages that lined the walls of the laboratory. She thought of her times there when she was one of the animals. She often shivered as a result of shock from the pain of her surgeries. Sinister never used anesthetic, only the paralyzing drug. He was, after all, the embodiment of all things evil and oppressive. But one of the Nasty Boys helped her… well, he wasn't a Nasty Boy, but he was favored as one all the same, and he looked after her when she needed it most. When he left, she knew it was just his way out. She knew he couldn't happy where he was. The more Betsy thought of him, the more she knew she had to return his favor. She would get out, she'd get him out, and they'd be X-Men. She knew it was where they both belonged.

            Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew, forcing Betsy to grab hold of her knees for warmth. She heard a low rumbling and feared it was oncoming thunder. If it rained, she would be forced to go back inside. But the as the sound remained at a steady tempo, growing louder, she knew it wasn't thunder, but a plane. As the thought struck her, she looked up, but because of the height of the wall, she could hear the plane long before she would ever see it. The nose of the plane began to come into view. She breathed in the air and began to smile as she looked upon her key to freedom. She couldn't believe it was finally happening. She had been planning this moment since she first got here over three years ago, just after her powers manifested before her 14th birthday. Her paralyzing excitement was interrupted by another man with bright pink hair and a purple trench coat. Instinctively she quit smiling and snapped around.

            "Ruckus!" She identified the man.

            "Psylocke, the X-Men." the man replied.

            "How did they find us?" She shouted at him angrily, trying to keep her cover. He merely shrugged his shoulders and ran back inside. Betsy began to follow him, but she turned back to take one last glance at her captivity, and then dashed inside after Ruckus. She quickly caught up with him and followed him back into the exam room where she'd left Scott, Jean, and Sinister.

            "Dr. Essex," Ruckus shouted at Sinister, "the X-Men have arrived." Sinister quickly, but carefully, pulled a hypodermic needle out of Scott's arm, the barrel filled with Scott's blood. There was only one on the table, Betsy noticed, he hadn't had time to draw Jean's blood. Once the vial was placed safely on the tray table, Sinister ripped off his gloves and jumped to his feet.

            "How did they find us?" Sinister directed his cold question at Betsy.

            "It wasn't me, if that's what you mean." She shouted at him defensively. 

            "Then _how_ did they find us?" Sinister's red eyes moved closer to her own. She leaned back as he invaded her personal space.

            "Fine, read my mind if you don't trust me." They each spat their English accents at each other in a duel until Sinister caved. 

            "I don't have time for this." He yelled as he took off his white lab coat and put on a longer, darker coat, with stiff strips of material that acted as soft spikes. It was more for affect than anything, and it served its purpose. He began to storm out of the room. "Psylocke, clean this up, and keep an eye on them. Ruckus, come with me, those bloody fools don't know what they're doing." Ruckus followed Sinister of the room and slammed the door behind him.

            As soon as the two had left, Betsy jumped into action. First, she raced to where she had left her robe from the night before, and pulled Scott's rose quartz sun glasses out, then over to a drawer in the counter under the sink and pulled out a remote control. Scott and Jean could only follow her with their eyes. They were both stunned at her robotic actions.

            "How long have you been planning this?" Scott said as Betsy preformed each task meticulously. She paused and looked at him.

            "Since the moment I got here." She said with a stone cold voice. Then she slowly walked over to Scott and began to put his glasses on him.

            "Wait!" Jean shouted.

            "What?" Betsy yelled back, anxiously frustrated.

            "Can I tell him something first, before you release our powers?"

            "But--" Betsy cut herself off when she looked at Scott. He gave her puppy dog eyes and she relented. "Oh, alright." She turned around, put her hands on her curvy hips and tapped her foot showing her impatience.

            "Scott, I just wanted you to know…" Jean started, "you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." Scott flashed Jean a loving gaze, which was quickly broken as Betsy mock vomiting noises became audible. Feeling their eyes on her, Betsy stopped and turned around.

            "Sorry… but can we hurry this up?" The two said nothing, but Jean stuck her tongue out at Betsy, who did the same. Scott waited for Jean to put her tongue back in her mouth, and they resumed their romantic stare. 

            "You too." He said to Jean. Betsy rolled her eyes, and put Scott's glasses on hid face.

            "Ready?" Betsy asked. Scott and Jean nodded their heads and Betsy pressed a button the remote control. The heavy collars around their necks fell to the floor with a clang, as Betsy lifted the tables into an upright position. She unfastened the buckles around Scott's wrists, and he was able to use his eye beams on the buckles around his ankles. By the time he had finished, Jean and Betsy had Jean's buckles undone. Scott and Jean hugged as they stood up, the first chance they were free.

            "Thanks, Betsy." Scott said as Betsy laid down the table Jean had just occupied and got on top of it.

            "Don't thank me yet, Cyclops, we're not done." Betsy splayed her arms and ankles to the corners of the table. "Hook me in, make them think you over powered me. They won't have time to think of how." Scott and Jean went to work, buckling Betsy down. "Leave one of my arms loose so I can slip my hand out. I'll be able to knock off an extra Nasty Boy before they catch one." Scott smiled at Betsy in admiration. She would be a good leader with X-Men, he thought. She had thought of everything. He felt as though they were kindred spirits. Not like him and Jean of course, but he respected Betsy, and hoped one day to be as quick witted as she already was. "Now go kick some Nasty ass." Jean and Scott smiled at her and ran out the door.

*          *          *  

            As the X-Men stepped off the black bird, they were met by the Nasty Boys, Sinister himself, hidden in the shadows of the high wall built around the fortress, standing just outside of the door. Although they weren't sure who was who, they had all been briefed about everyone's powers, thank to the information Betsy had given the professor.

            "What do you want them for, Sinister?" The professor asked across the small strip of space between the two teams, both poised in attack stance. Sinister merely smirked as his glowing eyes flashed, rather than responding. "Where are they?" Xavier shouted again.

            "You have no idea what you're doing." Sinister sneered in his evil echoing voice, dripping with disdain.

            "Essex, I will ask you only one more time… where are my X-Men and what do you want them for?" The professor was growing more and more infuriated with Sinister.

            "Ruckus… perhaps you can provide the X-Men with the answers they seek." Ruckus stepped in front of Vertigo, George, and Slab.

            "Sure, boss." Ruckus said drawing a cocky smile across his face. As he began to open his moth, the professor remembered Ruckus' power, and tried to alert his team.

            "Cover your ears!" The warning came too late. All the sounds that were going on, that most people were so accustomed to the faint sounds of, leaves rustling in the slight breeze, birds flapping their wings, the sound of air circulating… it was all echoed 1000 fold the second Ruckus opened his mouth. The resonation forced the X-Men to the ground, grasping fiercely at their ears, their ears drums about to burst under the pressure. The Nasty Boys were unaffected by Ruckus' mutated voice box, as they stood behind him, out of his range. The mind bending noise was finally interrupted as Ruckus was blasted with a red optic blast. As the X-Men recovered, Logan perhaps affected most thanks to his super hearing, their heads still rang. The Nasty Boys all looked back to see what had happened. Scott and Jean appeared in the doorway. Sinister quickly blasted Scott with a beam of his own, shooting from his hand. Scott was knocked unconscious.

            "Where is Psylocke?" Sinister shouted at Jean. She knelt down to tend to Scott. Jean narrowed her eyes and spoke slowly as she raised her and at Sinister. 

            "We tied her up!" Jean shouted as she flung Sinister through the air with her telekinesis. George gently reached his hand high into the air and flattened out his arm to make a net that caught Sinister. George placed him on the ground.

            "Ruckus, go get Psylocke!" Sinister growled.

            "But boss--" Ruckus protested, itching to fight the X-Men.

            "Go!" Sinister yelled back. Ruckus sauntered back inside like a puppy that had just been caught peeing on the carpet. He stepped over Scott, much to Jean's dismay at his lack of compassion for her beloved. "Slab, you take care of the happy couple." Slab shrugged his shoulders and made his way toward the two. Behind him, Nightcrawler made his way over to the Beast and they made silent plan. Kurt put his hand in Hank's/

*BAMF!*

*BAMF!*

            Slab was suddenly impeded by big, blue, fuzzy mass. "Move, please." Slab said dumbly. Nightcrawler and Beast looked at each other, confused at their enemy's manners. Both teams watched what would happen next. Slab looked back at Sinister who merely nodded at him. Neither Beast nor Nightcrawler moved. "Okay." Slab said to himself. He took one of Kurt's hands and one of Beast's. With a simple heaving of his arms, he threw the two blue boys across the battlefield. As the two hit and skidded across the ground far away, the X-Men were all unable to act. Slab's strength was greater than they thought. Kurt and Hank were both unconscious. Storm took personal offense and finally decided to act. Her irises and pupils disappeared as her eyeballs began to glow white. She leapt into the air, catching herself with a slight gust of wind. She called upon a dark thunder cloud in the early, early, dawn sky. She hurled lightening bolt after lightening bolt at Slab, who remained rather unaffected and he continued toward Scott and Jean. His massive size protected him well. 

            "Shadowcat!" Storm directed Kitty. Shadowcat ran to jump on Slab, grabbing him around the neck. She wasn't able to do much, as Slab began to furiously shake off the petite girl. "Hold on tight." Storm warned her. The weather witch conjured the winds again to form a twister. She directed it to consume both Slab and Shadowcat and she motioned the tornado into the thick wall. Kitty disappeared into the wall while Slab remained visible from the tips of shoulders up. Kitty then flew out of the wall. The Nasty Boys watched the fight as though it were entertainment. The X-Men waited so as not to make the first move against anyone else. 

*          *          *

            Betsy grew more and more nervous as she waited for someone to come "rescue" her. Her position on the exam table drew up old memories of her surgeries. She began to have panic attacks as her heart beat louder and louder in her chest. She decided to think about what was taking so long outside. She grew anxious once again. She feared her plans were all falling apart. She had hoped for this opportunity so long, and she had gone so far. If the plan failed she was surely dead. Betsy decided to focus on her breathing, closing her eyes to picture the peaceful home she saw in Jean's mind. Just then Ruckus burst through the door. "Oh thank God." she sighed.

            "How did they get you?" he asked as he walked across the room.

            "It's a long story; just get me out of here!" She yelled at him, "struggling" in her cuffs.

            "You know, I could do just about anything I want to, you bein' pinned down in that skimpy little thing…" She began to rattle more on the table, livid.

            "Get me out of here you imbecile!!" 

            "Alright, alright, keep your panties on…" He bent down to unbuckle her arm, "or not." He looked at her and smiled wickedly. Hatred flared in Betsy's eyes. He went back to messing with the buckle, and Betsy let her other hand glow purple. She quickly slipped it out and stabbed Ruckus in the back of the head with it. He instantly fell limp, banging his chin on the table as he dropped to the floor. She scoffed at him as she freed her hand and ankles. She started her way out of the room, slipping on her robe. She opened the door but then caught herself. She looked back as she was struck with an idea.

*          *          *

            Wolverine stood in attack position as George approached. Logan was looking at a real, live Gumby. He unsheathed his claws with a SNIKT. He growled at the man. "You must be George." tumbled out of Wolverine's mouth along with the animal noises.

            "That's _Gorgeous_ George." He replied as he wrapped his arms around Wolverine. Logan began slashing his claws at George in defense. His thrashing did nothing as if her were clawing at corn syrup. George simply snickered at Wolverine's surprised look as he began constricting him in his arms like a snake.

            Vertigo decided to get in on the action as she had a deep, deep passion for fighting. She sauntered to the waking Beat and Nightcrawler, with a cocky smile on her face. She bent down in front of Kurt. "How are you feeling, Nightcrawler?" Her voice was calm and monotonous, but Kurt felt sick as his stomach began churning his latest round of gut bombs. "And the Beast… how are you?" She addressed the bigger blue fuzz man. His vision began to spin. Had he not just recovered from being unconscious, he could have used his acrobatic skills to ignore his dizziness, but now he was unable to focus. Suddenly Vertigo stopped. She fell on the ground revealing Betsy, now standing over Vertigo, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 

            "Bloody fool." She said smiling at Vertigo's lifeless body. "I've wanted to do that for a long time now." She said extending a hand to each Hank and Kurt, helping them to their feet.

            George was now holding Wolverine high in the air, his arms stretching to cocoon him. Logan thrashed to no avail as he began to down in George's liquidy form. Out of self preservation, Logan began to lose control over his animal instincts. His X-Manly thoughts of preserving life began to slip away as he fought the urge to breath in George's Jell-O body. Logan finally plunged his claws into George until his hand pierced all the way through his body. He sliced George from groin to ear, managing to slip out the gaping hole. He fell to the ground. Jean took over throwing George far away into a creek, still aiding Scott who had not recovered. Strom flew to where Jean had thrown him, through woods. She caused a rain storm to flood the creek and directed the wind to blow him far away down stream. 

            Sinister was distracted as he observed Betsy's betrayal. Rogue saw this as her opportunity. She ran to grab Kitty's hand who pulled her underground. They reappeared, emerging out of the top of the think brick wall behind Sinister. Rogue crouched to jump.

            "Now, Rogue. Go!" Kitty shouted at her. "You have to do it now!" Rogue hesitated.

            "Ah dunno if Ah want him inside mah head." She mumbled. Betsy could hear Rogue in her head. She snapped around anticipating what was coming. Just as Rogue mustered the strength to jump, Betsy screamed to her.

            "No, Rogue, Stop!" It was too late. Rogue had jumped from the wall onto Sinister. She sat on his shoulders, and hesitated once more to put her bare hands on his face. She persisted with her responsibilities to the team and tried to execute her power. Betsy was still watching the scene play out. She was unable to stop it.  Rogue was stunned when no transfer occurred. Nothing happened. She pressed her hands once again on the man's white translucent skin. The results this time were no different. Everyone watched in shock, always having believed Rogue would never be able to touch someone, yet here, she was. Sinister turned to see Rogue out of the corner of his red eye, and he smirked at her.

            "Surprise." He said. His voice oozed with malice. He slid his hand under her knee and flung her backward. It wouldn't have taken long for her to hit the wall she had jumped from, but instead she flew right through it, as Kitty crouched on top, focusing hard. Kitty quickly jumped down the other side to run to Rogue's aid. Sinister looked at Betsy. "Traitor." He whispered. 

            In retaliation Betsy mouthed the words "Mad man."

*          *          *

            On the other side of the wall, Kitty ran to her friend. "Whoa, Rogue. What happened?" Kitty bent down to help her stand up.

            "Ah… Ah dunno… it jus' didn' work." She said as she managed to stagger to her feet.

            "Wow," Kitty said, "It's never not worked.

            "Ah know." Rogue replied, relieved. Kitty helped her friend walk back to the battle field.

*          *          *

            Wolverine attempted to sneak up on the only remaining opponent. He was personally offended by the attack on Rogue. Logan had gotten close enough to slash at Sinister, ripping three parallel gashes on the man's shoulder blade. He turned around to Wolverine, unphased. He smiled as he glanced back down at his shoulder. Everyone watched in amazement as they sealed themselves right back up. Scott had now regained his consciousness and he removed his glasses to blast at Sinister. Scott managed to catch him off guard as he wowed the audience with his mock healing factor. He returned Scott's blast with his own, but Jean managed to protect them both with a telekinetic shield.

            "Stop it, you fools!" Betsy shrieked.

            "Wise words, Miss Braddock." Sinister responded. Rogue and Kitty then phased back through the wall. Sinister turned around. "Ah, Rogue…" he said. She just looked up at him and threw him one of her patented evil glares. With Sinister's back turned, Betsy removed her idea from where it had been, tucked inside the sash tied around her waist under her robe. She held the power negation collar just behind her back to conceal it, but keep it readily available. She walked slowly toward Sinister so as not to alert his attention. "Rogue, is that anyway to say 'thank you' for answering your prayers?" He continued, still distracted by her. 

            "Answerin' mah prayers?" Rogue questioned.

            "When was the last time you touched someone without sucking the life out of them?" he paused, "I have found a solution, Rogue… I can give it to you… for a price." As Rogue looked over the villain's face, she noticed his burning red eyes. Then she thought of the other red eyes in her head. Then, the gift of touch. Her shocking consideration was interrupted as Betsy pounced on Sinister. Using her samurai skills, she leapt high into the air, and landed on Sinister's shoulders as Rogue had before. She snapped the collar around his neck. Due to her small size, Sinister shook her off with a great deal of ease. She was able to take the fall gracefully, and wasn't affected as she hit the ground. Scott uncased his glasses and blasted Sinister once again, this time on his feet. Sinister was finally knocked out.

            Betsy stood over her oppressor as he lay limp on the ground. She grew more and more furious at him, but was unable to look away. She wanted to kill him and she fought hard to resist the urge. All of her memories of pain and torture flowed to the surface of her mind. Her hands began to glow out of control. But as she had nowhere to extinguish them, she spat at the lifeless man on the ground.

            "Betsy," The professor chided her as if she were already one of his students.

            "When he wakes up he's gonna be mad…" Slab said. Everyone forgot he was there since he had remained silent once Kitty and Storm entombed him. Betsy looked at him with pity and allowed her hand to glow once again. She stood in front of him.

            "You're going to take a nap now, Slab." She said to him calmly. He only nodded pitifully. She raised her purple fist and pushed into the back of his neck. His head instantly went limp. She turned around, tired. Betsy was worn out for fighting for over three years. She looked at the X-Men who all looked at her. Tears began to well up behind her eyes. She was free and she was exhausted.

*          *          *

            Betsy had fallen to her knees, and held her head in her hands. The professor had wheeled himself in front of her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay now, Betsy… it's over. We're going to take you home."

            She looked up at him with puffy eyes. "No, I can't." she whispered.

            "It's alright now, he's gone. If you come back with us, he can't ever get you again." He pleaded.

            "Please, I've shown you, you can't protect them from everything. But you just don't understand." She repeated.

            "We'll discuss it when we get back to the mansion, Betsy, just some with us."

            "No… no… I have to go." She stood up and addressed all of the X-Men. "I thank you… I do.  For everything. For my freedom. But I have t- … I have to go." She started to run towards the woods.

            "Betsy--" Scott tried to stop her as she ran past him.

            "Let her go, Scott… she's not ready." The professor directed.

             Ororo and Hank had begun to prepare the jet. Jean and Scott were first on board, walking solemnly. Kurt then ported himself and Logan on the plane. Kitty took one more look in Betsy's direction, but she couldn't see her anymore. Kitty sighed and stepped on the plane. None of them said a thing. Rogue looked at the ground as if she felt guilty. The professor looked at her, and she felt his glare. "I want to see you in my study when we return to the mansion." He said to her sternly. She sighed and sheepishly nodded her head. When the two were safely on the plane, the stair case retracted and the X-Men were gone.

*          *          *

            Betsy stopped running as she saw the jet fly over head. It was morning now and sun beat down oh her tear streaked face. She watched her saviors fly away as quickly as they had arrived. She started sobbing again, regretting her decision to stay behind. She feared she may never get the chance to go back. She wished they had pushed her harder. If they had asked one more time she would have relented. She would have agreed to go, she wanted to so badly. But her will took over and now it was too late to change her plans. Her crying mixed with her panting from running, as well as the overwhelming feelings all compounded and she began to hyperventilate. She focused hard to apply her will to her breathing. The pace of her breath began to slow and her tears began to dry up as she focused on the task still ahead of her. As she regained her sanity, she could see a shadow cover; she knew instantly who it was, and once again she grew cold in her heart to play to her audience.

            "I've been awaiting your arrival." She said with a stiff voice to the figure hovering over her.

            "Then you've reconsidered my offer?" the old metallic voice rang with the same evil behind it as Sinister's.

            "I have." She said as she turned around. The man was still shrouded in shadows, as the early morning sun was at his back. He hovered a few feet above the ground as he gestured toward a sphere he drew closer to her. She studied his every move. The sphere opened as the man focus pointedly at it. Betsy calmly stepped in and crouched down. The sphere closed on her and took her away.     
    


	6. Chapter 6

Yay!! Now it's getting good into character development!!!        

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            The TV blasted the evening news. Another story of a mutant beaten up in the streets. The boy watching shook his head in contempt, and looked down at the game of solitaire set up on the table. He moved the four of hearts on top of the three of hearts, moved to four of diamonds over the five of spades. He flipped up the last remaining card with its face down. He'd won again. The TV suddenly blared the latest metal song.

            "Ah was watchin' that, mon ami." 

            "No, mate, you were playin' with your cards." Pyro plopped down on the seat next to Gambit. His bright orange hair reflected the Aussie's personality; he was jumpy and full of excitement and energy. He pulled a lighter out of his red cargo pants. He illuminated the lighter, and sculpted two people dancing to the music on the TV. Gambit watched out of the corner of his black eyeballs. Pyro noticed his friend glaring at him, and the two people turned into two naked women. Gambit scoffed at the boy's tactlessness. Pyro chuckled. He loved bugging the hell out of Gambit. Pyro waved his hand at the two women on the table and they grew to life size. Gambit rolled his red irises around in his head at the kid. They were about the same age, but Gambit had enough experience in his life to age him, unfortunately, far beyond his years. He stood up, lest he be tainted by the psychopathic teenager. Pyro laughed at Gambit as the two fire girls gyrated against each other. He found his entertainment interrupted as a large glass of water was poured over his head. The girls dissipated. He looked up to see his housemate, Colossus, standing over him holding the empty glass. The stone faced man could squash Pyro under his thumb, so he resisted very little.

            "Why'd you have to go an' do that?" Pyro said as he leered his eyes and folded his arms.

            "You could have burned the house down." Colossus replied in his thick, emotionless, Russian accent. He walked back to the table in the kitchen, behind the sofa. Pyro got up to walk to his room to change his clothes and dry off. Gambit leaned against the threshold of the door to his own room when Pyro passed by. He smiled and laughed at the sopping boy.

            "That's what 'cha get, John. Some resident saint you are." He said in a cocky "I told you so" voice.

            "Don't call me that!" Pyro shouted back. He disappeared into his room and Gambit turned around. H began to empty the many pockets of his trench coat, small papers, candy wrappers, an empty pack of cigarettes, a cocktail napkin with a phone number and name scrawled across it – that one made him smile with ride- and his bo staff. He carefully set the small cylinder and its many accoutrements on the dresser against the wall. He caught an image of himself in the mirror on top of it. He ran his hand through his short-ish auburn hair and smiled at himself, and then he sighed, as if he had been kidding himself. He turned around to shut the door when Sabretooth appeared from behind it. The lion/man lunged at Gambit, and he had no time to react. He was pinned against the wall by Sabretooth's hand against his neck. He winced as the back of his head banged the wall.

            "What do y'want, Creed?" he managed to whisper as his red eyes flashed.

            "Where's my money?" the cat growled at him.

            "Get chyo' hand offa my throat and I'll get it for ya." Gambit staggered out as he fought for air. Sabretooth snorted at him, and then let him go. Gambit gasped for air as he guarded his throat. He never took his red and black eyes off of Creed. The cat merely threw an evil look at him.

            "Hurry up." Sabretooth growled again.

            "Attendez, Creed. Gambit don' have no lightnin' quick healin' factor." Sabretooth rolled his eyes at the bent over boy. Gambit finally reached into another pocket in his trench coat and pulled out a ball of cash and handed it to Sabretooth, who looked over it carefully.

            "Where's the rest of it?" Creed roared.

            "S'all I got… not a good day." Gambit replied, taking off his coat and laying it on the bed.

            "You're holding out on me." Sabretooth purred.

            "What makes you t'ink dat, mon ami?" Gambit said over his shoulder. Sabretooth eyeballed the cash in his hand and snorted at it. He left without saying anything, his long, cat hair whipping around him. Gambit gave himself a cocky smile and pulled another, larger, wad of cash from his pants pocket. "Gambit ain't never had a bad day." He whispered to himself.

            Three loud thumps on his door distracted Gambit from his thoughts. Then Colossus's calm, monotonous voice passed through the door. "Magneto is back, he would like a word." Gambit sighed and out his coat back on as he walked out of the room.

*          *          *

            Rogue waited anxiously in the professor's study. She looked around at all the books and smiled at how perfect it was. She noticed the book _Dracula sitting on the table beside the chair she sat in. It immediately made her think of Sinister. His white, white skin that made her own porcelain death trap look dark. His fanged teeth she saw as he smiled at her and made her an offer. His voice, she knew, was tainted and evil, but what he said sounded so sweet as it rang through her ears. He offered her the gift of touch… for a price. She shuddered as she realized she had considered it, even if it was just for a second. She thought about his black widows peak that framed his Dracula like face. Then his burning red eyes. For some reason, another pair of burning red eyes flashed through her mind. Then she imagined Sinister standing over her with a bone saw. The harsh whizzing noise reverberated in her brain. She was scared, but she was unable to move, she was paralyzed as he pressed the saw into her bald scalp. She started to sweat sitting in the chair in the study. Her breaths grew much shorter and quicker. _

            "Rogue, are you alright?" Xavier's voice snapped her out of her horrifying memory.  A memory that didn't belong to her. "Rogue?" the professor continued to ask as she regained her composure.

            "Ah… Ah'm… sorry. Ah didn't see ya come in…" She had to catch her breath.

            "Rogue, is everything alright?" Xavier asked as she looked up into his wise eyes.

            "Yeah, professor, Ah just…" She paused, "someone's memory surfaced. It just scared me is all." 

            "I see." The professor said as he removed his hand from Rogue's shoulder and placed it under his chin. "Rogue, perhaps we should up our sessions to twice a week." He paused, Rogue nodded sheepishly. "Your reservations are becoming a liability, however." She nodded again. "This regression in the progress we'd made with your powers… I think it might be best if you trained with the new recruits for a while."

            "What?!" Rogue shouted at the calm man.

            "Rogue, your hesitation is a risk to the team as well as yourself. You're letting your emotions overcome you. It appears you need the same training as they do now."

            "Why don't you jus' sentence me to special ed, too?" She snapped back as she leaned back in the chair and folded her arms.

            "Rogue, please try to understand." was all he could say.

            "Is that all?" she barked at him. He nodded and she got up to leave. She stared at the floor as she walked out of the room. "As if I wasn't ashamed enough…" she thought to herself. Without watching where she was going, she bumped into Logan, standing in the doorway.

            "What if I trained her myself, Charles, everyday, before and after school… spare her the humiliation." Logan said, coming to her defense. Rogue looked back at the professor and her eyes lit up. He couldn't say no.

            "Alright, Logan. But Rogue, you're still on restricted missions until we've decided you made enough progress." Rogue nodded excitedly, until the thought hit her. Logan's danger room sessions, twice a day. Maybe she was better off with the new recruits. The professor couldn't help but smile as Rogue made her conclusions. She merely narrowed her eyes as she let the room.

            "Thanks a lot, Logan." Rogue mumbled with sarcasm as she passed him on her way out of the room.

*          *          *

            The Acolytes stood in the kitchen/living room as they waited for their meeting to begin. Gambit leaned against the threshold that separated the two rooms. This way he could see everything. Pyro sat on the couch flipping through the channels on TV, obviously bored.

            "I wish someone hadn't gone and soaked my lighter…" he said very loudly.

            "Lesbian porn is a sad waste o' yo' mind, garçon." Gambit replied, although he wasn't addressed.

            "And skill." Colossus mumbled from where he was hunched over the newspaper that sat on the kitchen table. His face gave no clues as weather he was serious about Pyro's skill, or being sarcastic. Gambit and Pyro both glared at the Russian then looked at each other before going back to what they were doing. They were shocked to hear the man speak, especially when he wasn't spoken too. Pyro flashed a proud smile at Gambit, in result to Colossus's high praise. Gambit merely rolled his eyes at him. 

            Sabretooth paced back and forth across the room like a caged circus lion. "Where is he…" he growled under his breath. Just then, Magneto appeared from down the hallway on the opposite side of the rooms from Gambit. He wore his magenta body armor and purple cape. His matching helmet shrouded his face in shadows.

            "Gentlemen, we have a new recruit." The four men, who had just been restless, not stood at full attention. They all watched as Betsy stepped out from behind Magneto. Her petite Asian frame had been easily hidden by the man's overpowering presence. She obviously was not shy as she stood proud at the man's side. They were all stunned by her powerful beauty, until Pyro broke the silence.

            "Bonzer, mates. We got ourselves a sheila." His gaze at her was unphased as a goofy smile took over his face.

            "Dat ain't no ordinary femme, mon ami, that's Psylocke." Gambit announced as he developed his own, less goofy and sleazier, grin. 

            "It's a relief to know, _Gambit_, that I'm more than just a passing thought like all your other women." Betsy broke her silence. Her sophisticated British accent as a surprise to Pyro, but Gambit continued to smirk.

            "You got yourself quite a reputation, there, mate." Pyro said as he elbowed Gambit in the ribs.

            "Dat ain't th'only reputation Gambit got wit the femmes." Pyro rolled his eyes and Colossus blushed at his comrade's candor. It was the first show of emotion Betsy had seen in the tank since she'd arrived. He quickly controlled his emotions and fixed his eyes back on his leader. Sabretooth snorted as he folded his arms.

            "What can she do?" he growled.

            "In due time, Sabretooth, you will see." With those ominous words from Magneto, Sabretooth turned around and disappeared into the hallway. Magneto followed down the same path. Betsy was left with Pyro, colossus and Gambit. She looked at Pyro and knew instantly what was going on his head. Colossus was an enigma, however. Many thoughts rolled through his mind. She left them blurred to herself so as not to invade his privacy. Despite the weight on his shoulders, he showed nothing. Her transfixiation was interrupted as Gambit grabbed her arm. 

            "Come wit' me, Psylocke. Gambit'll show ya th'empty room." He dragged her slowly through the room to the hallway where everyone had gone to.

            As they passed Pyro, Betsy heard him say, "Me love you long time…" mocking her Asian beauty. Betsy just brushed it off, and she assumed Gambit hadn't heard it, but she found out she was wrong when he gingerly reached into his trench coat with his free hand and pulled out a playing card. He charged it up and tossed it over his shoulder. Betsy watched as it sailed over head, and out of instinct, Pyro tried to catch it. As soon as he realized that it was, he threw it away and tried to jump. The resulting KABOOM! caused Gambit to chuckle without looking.

            "Ladies get respect, mon ami. 'Specially dis one." Betsy blushed but quickly reminded herself of whom she was dealing with, and maintained her strong demeanor.

*          *          *

            Scott messed around with the computer in his room. The professor had given Scott and Jean each their own computer as a graduation gift. Although the ceremony was plagued with fears of the end of the world, they still made it. Scott was bored though. His thoughts saddened him. He was distracting himself by running people's names through a search engine just to see what came up. When he put in his own name or anyone else who lived at the mansion, for that matter, he got several articles on the anti-mutant hysteria. Since they were among the world's first known mutants, the media felt it was necessary to display their identities and photos of the children, despite their status as minors. The results depressed him so much; he started running people's names who weren't known mutants. He couldn't fid too much on Sinister… just a book he wrote back in the 1850's in the dawn of the Darwinian era. His next search was Betsy. He found several articles on a girl named Elizabeth Braddock. She was model in London, but in the pictures, she was a normal, English girl, not Asian. He figured it was just a coincidence… but then he found several articles from the BBC and tabloids about the disappearance of England's sweetheart around three years ago. 

            His depressing boredom was interrupted when Jean walked in the room. "You're still worried about Betsy, aren't you?" Scott could detect a slight hint of jealousy through the special bond he shared with her. He brushed it off.

            "How could I not be, Jean? I know she wanted to come with us. She would be a great X-Man… a great leader. I know it."

            "Leader? You sound like you're looking for a replacement." She responded bitterly.

            "No, I mean…" he tried to compose his thoughts as she sat on the bed behind the desk he sat at. "I understood her, Jean. I felt like she and I connected… like we had a special bond or something." Jean scowled, openly angry.

            "Don't _we_ have a special bond?" She was definitely jealous now. Scott was offended Jean would question his loyalty.

            "You know what I mean… I just can't understand her decision." Jean just sighed. Her insecurities melted away at his concern and sensitivity for someone he hardly knew. 

            "She'll come around when she's ready Scott. If you know she should be an X-Man, and you feel like you understand her like that, she probably knows too. If she doesn't, then she'll figure it out eventually. When she was in my mind, she projected open-mindedness and compassion. I think she just had business to take care of." She stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her beautiful green eyes, and she shut them as she moved closer to him.

*BAMF!*

            "Kurt!!" Scott yelled as he waved his hands in the air to disperse the black smoke. 

            "Sorry, vas I interrupting somezing?" Kurt smiled fiendishly. 

            "Maybe…" Scott folded his resentment, Jean just smiled it off.

            "I'll see you later, danger room session in an hour." Jean walked out of the room.

            "What do you want, Kurt?"

            "Oh man, the professor got our grades in. I failed my math class, I'm totally grounded till I go home, and I have to go to summer school. Could you tutor me?"

            "Sure, Kurt." Scott said. Nobody could stay mad at him for long, and Scott was no exception. They were like brothers. 

            "Great!" Kurt responded.

*BAMF!* 

            Just as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone.

*          *          *

            The room Gambit had brought Betsy to amazed her. It had a remarkably high ceiling. The room was small, but it had plenty of head room, reminding her of the flats back in London. There was a bed, a dresser, and a wardrobe closet. Everything was the same color green though. She turned around to face Gambit, who had shut the door to the room.

            "This is quite brilliant." She said excitedly. She noticed Gambit's serious expression. She waited for an explanation.

            "What a' you doin' here, Betts?" he asked rather bitterly. She shot him an expression as evil as his own.

            "The same thing as you, Remy. I'm a soldier in the inevitable war between the superior mutant race and the human oppressors." There wasn't a hint of emotion in her voice, but Remy still didn't need his empathic abilities to know she was being coldly sarcastic. He knew her better than that.

            "What are you doin' here?" He asked again.

            "I'm here to rescue you." She relented. It made him chuckle.

            "An' jus' what makes you t'ink Remy needs rescuin'?" He flashed her his irresistible cocky smile that made women throw themselves at his feet.

            "Your charm is lost on me, Remy LeBeau." She whispered to him just as seductively as he acted toward her.

            "No femme can resist Gambit." His red eyes flashed as he snaked a hand around her waist. 

            "Most women don't know what I know." She said, seemingly accepting his advances. 

            "Oh yeah? An' was' dat?"

            She put her hand around the back of his neck, playing his game of seduction. She fondled his ear lobe with her index finger as she whispered into it. "Green eyes… forbidden fruit." He instantly put his hands on her hips and pushed her back. His cocky smiled disappeared while she maintained hers. She beat him at his game. 

            "You been snoopin' where you don' belong, girl."

            "Remy, if anyone wanted to protect their head from the wondering mind of a telepath, they'd do well to take a lesson from you." She pulled his hands off her robed waist. "the problem is, though, that I think your thoughts and memories are buried so deeply that not even you can find them." She sighed; Remy just looked at the floor. "We don't belong here, Remy. You know it."

            "An' jus' where d'you suppose we go?" He asked, mocking her lack of forethought.

            "The Xavier Institute." She replied bluntly.

            "The Xavier Institute?" Remy's face lit up, but not pleasantly. "What make you t'ink dey'd take us?"

            "They have to help us, Remy. They're X-Men, it's what they do."

            "Well, if ya been doin' you're homework, petite, you'd know they ain't exactly happy with Remy."

            "Well, they'll just have to grin and bare it." She began pacing around the room, inspecting the dresser and closet.

            "How d'you know I wanna go?" Betsy stopped cold in her tracks.

            "Beacause, Remy, you're not a mercenary, you're a warrior."

            "A warrior for what?"

            "I know you don't like it here. He makes you do bad things. That's why you left New Orleans, it's why you left Sinister, and it's why you're going to leave Magneto." She was forthright in telling him what she knew. "And you shouldn't be worried about getting infected with their kind heartedness… you've already got it." She smiled at him as she fixed down the collar on his coat. He looked down at Betsy, sadly. 

            "Chère, does X-Men… they would sacrifice deir lives for dat crazy fool's dream." He tried to bring her head out of the clouds. She shot a sad look at him. She looked like she was about to cry. If there was only one thing in the world Remy couldn't handle, it was crying girl. They made him melt. He was putty to any girl, all they had to was shed a tear. But Betsy didn't cry. She spoke to him with pity.

            "How could anyone who wants peace be a fool?" she blinked and a single drop rolled down her cheek. Remy wiped it away with his thumb. One look in her eyes and he would do anything he could to make her happy again. "This is your chance, Remy. The chips are stacked against you and this you opportunity to even them out. Even you have to the admit, the X-Men are doing it right, even if they're running a never ending race, at least they're miles ahead of anyone else. Even if you don't think humans and mutants can ever live peacefully, at least you'll get to save the world." Gambit smiled at her tiredly.

            "You t'ink a lot a' dis t'ief, don' chya?"

            "Yes, I do. And maybe this will help you prove it to yourself." He hugged her and rested his chin on her head. His arms felt warm and safe.

            "How d'you suppose we gonna get outta here?"

            "We'll figure it out… hey, where's the loo?"

            "Oh… s'down the hall an' to the left." Betsy smiled and walked out of the room.

            "Oh, and just do you know, the pussy cat's been following you." Gambit smiled and shook his head as she shut the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the excellent reviews! Keep 'em coming!!    

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            Betsy concentrated hard on the scene below. She hid high, up close to the ceiling. She crouched over a web of pipes, keeping her mind open to anticipate her enemy's arrival and maybe to sense his course of action. She loved a test. She loved a challenge. This was her opportunity to show up Magneto's own trained goons while he watched and let it happen. She looked to the ground as Sabretooth came into view. He had followed her scent and it was only a matter of time before he found her hiding place. She jumped down to surprise him. She wrapped her legs around his neck, sitting on his shoulders, and caught him off guard. She easily charged her psionic dagger, and forced it into the back of his neck. He fell forward and she landed on her knees. Her short scuffle with Sabretooth left her distracted. She never noticed Pyro's presence.

            A ring of fire encircled Betsy, flaring with a roaring sound mixed with Pyro's own maniacal laughter. She was caught off guard at first and struggled to regain her focus as the fire's immense heat fought to take over her. She could see Pyro in his red, flame retardant jumpsuit, continuing to spray fire at her from the blow torch attached to his back that snaked its way up to his wrists. She had to look up to the ceiling to take in cool breaths every so often as she formulated a plan, and her enemy grew over confident. Suddenly, in the air in front of him, four hoops of fire appeared. Pyro became fascinated with them as they stacked themselves around him. He grew hysterical, not at the fire, but at the fact he couldn't control it. The fire around Betsy dissipated as Pyro lost his focus. She continued to exert her mind on him with an evil stare. Pyro grew more and more frantic as he lost his control. Betsy stepped through the rings of flames and lodged another psionic knife in his neck. Not having his mind to project the flames into, they disappeared.

            From across the large empty room, scattered with boxes, Colossus, in his 500 pound armored form, took off charging at Betsy. She wracked her brain for away to get out of this situation. Her martial arts training kicked in, as she was able to leap high enough to plant her hands on his shoulders and flip herself over his head. She landed on a stack of boxes. He began tossing them aside. She fell off the tower and couldn't act fast enough. She put her hands up in a defensive mode, and Colossus grabbed them. He began squeezing her hands. She screamed in pain and fell to her knees. She thought he would break every bone below her elbow, and could see why he hadn't already. Reacting out of self preservation, she looked through his mind for a weakness… and she found it. She spat out a couple of sentences using the Russian in Colossus's mind. He immediately surrendered, and reverted back to his normal human form. He sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. She fell on her back and heaved from the exhaustion of both her physical and mental confrontation. She rubbed her arms, and Colossus said nothing. 

            "Alright, Psylocke, it's mah turn now." Gambit smiled at her as his auburn hair dangled around his eyes. She groaned as she blinked and prepared herself for battle once again. He held a couple of playing cards over her head, trying to give her a warning. He would be her toughest challenge. They had fought both together and against each other for over a year as Sinister's guinea pigs and personal entertainment. They had been apart for over two years however, so they both had time to develop their own secrets. It was no use to rifle through his mind, it was likely she'd get bit by something, and physically, they were equals.

            Gambit charged the playing cards and dropped them. She rolled out of the way in a crouching fighting stance. He tossed a few more explosive cards at her, and she managed to dodge each one. He reached into his pocket to fish out more only to find he had none left; he'd tired his supply. This left them fighting hand to hand for a little while. Each punch she threw she was blocked and same for him. Each kick was opposed and each time one of them fell, they were back up just as quickly. Psylocke put up her foot to kick him, and he grabbed her ankle, flipping her over backward. She fell and rolled away from him as he located his staff in an inside pocket of his coat. She began doing a series of hand springs in order to get closer to him. He held his staff out defensively, waiting for her to make an offensive move, but she just continued flipping closer to him. He took steps back to avoid getting hit in the face with one of her purple boots. She continued with her gymnastics until his back was against the wall. She hooked the heels of her shoes, shoulder width apart, on to his horizontal staff. She pushed it up hitting Gambit in the nose. He fell to the side, cupping his nose, giving her room enough to plant her feet on the ground. She slipped the staff out from under her shoes and held it up like a baseball bat. She prepared to swing it as she turned around, and he curled up defensively. She lowered the stick and sighed at him through short, labored breaths. Her hand glowed purple once again.

            "Lights out, Gambit." She whispered as she gently pushed it into his neck. She turned to see the reaction of her audience. All he did was yell at her.

            "Clean this up." Magneto sounded frustrated as he left the room, slamming the big metal door behind him. The loud echo startled her, making her shoulders jump. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know what he meant by cleaning up. She crouched down in front of Remy, and leaned his lifeless body against the wall. His nose was bleeding. She pressed her fingers against it and decided it wasn't broken. She tilted his head back and untied the sash around the waist of her purple uniform to try and stop the bleeding. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Colossus hadn't moved a muscle. She tied the sash around Remy's head and got up and approached Colossus.

            "Peter?" She addressed him tentatively, not knowing if he was angry or not. He looked up to her. "That is your name… Peter, right?"

            "In English." He nodded. "In Russia, my name is Piotr… but you may call me Peter." She smiled at him and extended a hand. 

            "I'm Betsy." She said as he took her hand, pulling himself up. "I'm sorry." She said. He looked back at her.

            "For what?" He spoke little, but his thick Russian accent was apparent.

            "For going into your head like that and using your personal thoughts against you. I didn't mean to, it was a reflex, out of self preservation…" she shut her eyes and shook her head. "Oh screw that, I'm making excuses… It was wrong and I shouldn't have done it. All I can promise you is that I won't tell anyone what I saw… and I won't do it again--" She was interrupted when the big stoic man placed a giant bear hand on her small shoulder.

            "I forgive you… but you were right… what you said." She gave him a confused look. Either he didn't see it, or pretended he didn't. He went to work, sitting Pyro up against the wall and then Sabretooth. "What did you do to them?" she smiled.

            "A direct mental attack. A healing factor can't help your mind; it depends on the strength of your will." Peter looked at her and for the first time, he smiled.

*          *          *          

            Remy watched Betsy as she slept. He was crouched on top of the dresser in the dark room that was only ever illuminated by the sunlight that came in through the small, fogged window on the wall. She was easily visible to him thanks to his mutant, red-eyed night vision. She was huddled up in the fetal position, like she was cold. Her long purple hair was carefully placed between her shoulder and the pillow. She didn't make a sound. Remy only knew that she was still alive because her eyes twitched furiously under her eyelids. She must be dreaming. She looked just like she did when she slept on the concrete floor of her cage when he came in to check on her every night. She was never this peaceful though. Back with Sinister, her body used to be rigid. If he shook her shoulder to wake her, her whole body moved. Now, she was rather relaxed.

            Betsy could unconsciously feel Remy's eyes watching her, as she flickered her eyes open. When she caught sight of Remy's glowing red eyes in the darkness, she screamed, startled at the image.

            "What are you doing in here?!" She halfway whispered, halfway screamed as she realized who it was, trying to slow her heartbeat. "You know this is the first peaceful night's rest I've had in over three years." He stepped off the bureau and sat on the foot of her bed. 

            "Yeah, Remy remember how that felt. A week later, dough, de nightmares began." He looked at the floor.

            "Nightmares?" She pressed further.

            "Well, memories. Dey haunt Remy. Can't sleep none anymore." She just sighed at him. "Sinister standin' over me wit' dat bone saw…You know, I felt all a that." He looked up at her. Betsy was sitting with her arms tugged tightly around her knees.

            "He wouldn't be Sinister if gave us anesthetic, I remember well… Was it worth it?" He looked to his folded hands in his lap. Betsy knew this meant that he was unsure of his sacrifice. "You're nose is looking better. The swelling has gone down considerably." She said, changing the subject. He cupped his nose and gauged its well being by the tenderness as he winced. 

            "Dat was a nice move earlier, wit' your shoes." Betsy smiled with pride. "Dose assassin bodies come wit' some nice accoutrements." Her smile quickly turned to a frown.

            "That was nice little gem I learned all on my own." She grew defensive. "And besides… if I were an assassin, we wouldn't get a long so well… assassin and a thief…" She smiled having nailed him in a sensitive spot. His eyes flashed at her reminder. 

            "How we gon' get outta here?" He said as the subject changed once again. She had to think for a moment.

            "Well, the only way out of here is those metal spheres, right?" Remy nodded. "So we hijack one and get to Bayville." Remy smiled and chuckled. 

            "Great plan, Spanky. I'll get Alphalfa and Buckwheat. You remember de secret hand shake, non?" he mocked her vigorously, she looked offended. "Oh c'mon, Betts, it ain't gon' be that easy."

            "I know that, you bloody retard. I was giving you the abridged version." He quit smiling. "The doors only open for the orbs, and they only open for Magneto, right?"

            "Oui… well, his magnetic power anyway. Dat's how de t'ings fly."

            "That's how they fly when he's in control… but what if something happened to him and his Acolytes wanted to carry on his vision? I think there are some in that loading bay of his that can be worked by the passenger." He smiled.

            "So how we gon' get 'em open?"

            "Well, thank of how many telepaths there are out there. There's me, there's Xavier, Jean Grey…" Remy stuck his tongue out at the mention of her name. Betsy smiled in subtle agreement. "Right, well you get my point. Who knows how many mutants there are that can control magnetism? I don't think it's his powers that open his followers' only stronghold. I think it's his brain waves." Remy tilted his head in confusion. "If I could get a get a reading of Magneto with his helmet off, I could replicate it and project it to the orb and we're out of here."

            "But he's opened dose t'ings wit his helmet on b'fore." He raised a good point.

            "Well… he helped create Xavier's mutant brainwave reader, so he obviously knows how they work. These things have to be sensitive enough to read through his helmet, but only recognize his signal from not too far. So, it's rather different from that cerebro, but cerebro uses a telepath's power for much more complicated things. These are just machines, like a microscope it can see things that people can't. The mind is a powerful thing and his little helmet can't block him entirely, what gets through is just too delicate for another mind to pick up, and cerebro just over looks it." She hypothesized and made grand assumptions.

            "So you t'ink we can do dis?"

            "I just have to get Magneto with is helmet off." She said with pride and nonchalance. They just smiled at each other. 

*          *          *

            Kitty walked down the hallway to her room, listening to music on her disc man. She began to sing softly with it, but it progressed rapidly to singing and dancing as she lost herself more in the music. She danced herself right into her room, pashing through the door. She caught Rogue off guard. Rogue was gently sobbing as she wrote in her journal.

            "Don't you knock?!" Rogue screamed at Kitty, wiping tears from her cheeks.

            "Hey, it's my room too!" Kitty shouted back. Then she realized Rogue had been crying and instantly went into "mother nurturer" mode. "What's wrong? Another session with Logan?" she joked trying to get her friend to crack a smile.

            "No, just tryin' to sort through mah' head. The professor told me Ah oughtta write in mah diary, it would be a good release so stuff wouldn't build up so much… it really jus' makes me sad." Rogue showed the book to Kitty, and she took it cautiously.

            "Can I read it?" She asked to make sure she wasn't invading Rouge's personal space. Rogue simply nodded and Kitty opened it up. It was almost filled with random thoughts and images. The pen lines were thick and deep, indenting the paper. "Wow, you talk about red and black devil eyes a lot."

            "Ah see 'em all the tahm." She whispered. "He's sad and lonely… lahk me. He doesn't think anyone will ever love him unless he does what they want." Kitty just looked at her sadly.

            "Wow," she continued flipping through the pages. She grew a look of surprise across her face. "Toad can quote anything by Shakespeare?" Rogue smiled.

            "Yeah, he's really smart… He could give Jean a run f'r her money if he wanted to… and his real name is Mortimer." Kitty arched an eyebrow.

            "Where did 'Todd' come from?" Rogue shrugged her shoulders. 

            "It's a good change if ya ask me." She answered. "Ah have conflicting memories of Magneto, though, from everyone."

            "Weird…" Kitty said. "So this helps you?"

            "Yeah, a lot." Rogue nodded.

            "Wow, I'd hate to think what you'd be like without it." Kitty smiled at her own joke, but Rogue was not amused.

            "Ah'm sorry f'r yellin' at you a minute ago." Rogue said sheepishly. Kitty just smiled at her and handed back the book.

            "It's totally cool, Rogue."            


	8. Chapter 8

YAY!!!! Another chapter!! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Let me know you love me!         

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            Betsy and Pyro sat across from each other at the kitchen table as they crunched down stale cereal. They were locked in a staring match. Neither one took a crazy eye off the other. Then Pyro spoke up.

            "You readin' my mind sheila?" His wild Australian accent sounded irritable compared to her calm, sophisticated, English one.

            "I'm afraid of your mind, you crazy bloke."

            "Afraid you might like it?"

            "No, I'm afraid I might get lost in that big, vacant hole…" He stuck his tongue out at her. "What do you do around here when you're not busy tryin' to pull my foot out of your ass after training?" He clenched his teeth in a fake smile at her, as she smiled back at him in pride.

            "The other day… I let you win 'cause you're a weak little girl." He got up from the table to pour himself more cereal.

            "What about yesterday?" She fluttered her eye lashes at him. He began to open his mouth to retort to her banter, when she interrupted him. "You know, that's enough of this stupid teasing… Just answer my question." She got serious and Pyro got the hint.

            "I like to write a bit." Her eyes lit up at the validity and normalcy of his response.

            "You ever been published?" she asked, Pyro smiled as he sat back down.

            "I'm not nearly good enough." He replied.

            "Maybe you ought to go to school?" she said meekly. Pyro stopped and stared at her as if she were crazy.

            "Me? Go back to school? That's a mighty fine joke there, sheila." He got up from the table and left, but she could feel the moisture in the room rise with the amount of sweat that has collected on his palms. She watched him leave as she felt a glimmer of hope.

*          *          *          

            At about 2:30 in the morning, Betsy would placidly open her eyes, and Remy would be there, perched on her dresser watching her sleep. It wasn't creepy at all… this was when Remy would come to Betsy to be himself. He had been keeping up appearances all his life and Betsy was the only one who could see immediately right through them. She was practically his best friend, and she enjoyed the attention. Back when she lived in London, everyone fawned over her beautiful looks. She was model and that was to be expected. But with Remy it was different than it was with every other man. He appealed to her caring, nurturing side. He was like a stray puppy on the side of the road that needed her. And this was their ritual. She'd been an Acolyte for nearly a week and a half, and he was there every night. The consistency comforted Betsy as so much had changed so fast. This time, he stepped off the dresser and extended a hand to her. She just looked at it.

            "I don' have coodies… well, I do… but I won't bite… unless you wan' me to." He smiled at her. She smiled back and shook her head.

            "If I didn't know about 'Miss Green Eyes' I might actually fall for you."  His grin widened with pride. She chuckled at him and took his hand, and he helped her out of the bed. She wore her robe for PJs. She followed him out of the bedroom and into the corridor before she whispered to him, "Where are we going?" He put his finger up to his lips telling her to be quiet. They stopped at a door, and he attempted to open it, but it was locked. He bent down to pick the lock, and Betsy looked around to see if anyone was watching. "Remy, what are you doing?" She whispered angrily. He motioned for her to be quiet again, and she did. He picked the lock with ease and opened the door. He gestured for Betsy to go in first.

            The room was dark. At first, Betsy couldn't see anything, but then a beam of light from the hallway illuminated the person sleeping in the bed. Her eyes widened as she looked at Remy. He put up his finger again just as she was going to open her mouth. "He's a light sleeper." He whispered so quietly he nearly just mouthed the words. She looked at Peter lying like a bear in his bed, then eyed Remy evilly. "Knock him out." He instructed her.  She looked at him as if he had just killed her dog. "C'mon, chère, jus' so we can turn on the light without wakin' him."

            "But I don't want to…besides, if you so worried about waking him up then we shouldn't be doing this." She whined softly.

            "Wow, you get pretty close to Petey boy there." He observed. Betsy looked down to Peter. He mumbled noises through a mouth full of pillows.

            "If you'd been in his head, you'd understand." She sounded sad as her hand began to glow. She never took her off eyes off his sleeping body. She could see in his dreams. She saw a smiling little blonde girl, and knew instantly who it was. The little girl was sick, she was dying. Peter wasn't there. It was here that the little girl would have died. Betsy knew how sad it would be that Peter couldn't be there for the girl, so Betsy changed his dream. She made the girl get better. Betsy thought that a man so burdened with sadness deserved a little happiness, even if it was only in his dreams. 

            "Hurry it up." Remy said, invading her reverie. She pushed the glowing knife into Peter's face down head. He grumbled, but then he was out. When he woke up he probably wouldn't remember Betsy's little gift, but it didn't matter to her. Remy flipped on the light and looked down at Peter. "Was' in dere?" 

            "What?" Betsy replied softly.

            "What's in his head? What did you say to him in training th'other day? All I can get is sadness and responsibility." Remy was going through the drawer in Peter's dresser.

            "You have to promise not to tell." She sounded scared for a second but Remy just glared at her like she was crazy from over his shoulder. If anyone could keep a secret, it was Remy LeBeau. "I asked him, rhetorically, if his sister would be proud of her big brother." Remy remained emotionless as went back to looking through the drawers. 

            "Sounds like a low blow t'Remy." He said.

            "It was, and apologized my brains out for it. Still doesn't make it right. I wish he'd be mad at me, than I could hate him back and I wouldn't feel so bad." Remy did nothing, making her feel even worse.

            "Oh, here dey are." Remy waved his hand telling Betsy to come look. She sat on her knees at his side as she looked into the drawer full of sketch books.

            "Wow." Betsy said, shocked at the sheer volume of books. She was reluctant to touch as they were forbidden fruit. Remy picked one up from near the bottom without hesitation. He began looking through it. When he got to the page he was searching for, he handed it to Betsy.

            "Dat her?" Betsy gasped as she laid her eyes on the drawing in front of her. It was the girl from Peter's dream.

            "Yes." she muttered as she nodded her head and began to flip through the pages from beautiful sketch to another. "They're brilliant." Bets was in awe as she put down the notebook she had and picked up another one. "How did you find these?" she finally asked.

            "Remy's a t'ief at heart. Tante Mattie always tell me that idle hands're hands a' the devil, and when you don' sleep f'r two years, ya got lots a' idle time." Remy looked down into the drawer, ashamed of his lack of control over his nature. Betsy continued to look through book after book all filled with technical masterpieces. She picked up another one from closer to the top of the stack, and was shocked at several of the portraits she saw.

            "Remy, look!" she jerked at his arm. "It's that X-girl, the Shadowcat!" He simply nodded. There were several drawings of Kitty Pryde, each one graceful and elegant. Peter wasn't merely good at drawing, he was an artist. Betsy looked back to his lifeless body on the bed, and she pondered for a minute. Remy's empathic powers began to pick up on her sympathy and concern, as well as her idea.

            "Oh, no." Remy said before she could say anything.

            "Remy, we have to!" She whined again.

            "Too many people, chère, someone gon' get left behind… the plan'll fall apart." She looked at him with puppy dog eyes. "You can't save the world, p'tite."

            "Why can't I try? It's part of being a hero." Her words struck at him, he looked back at Peter.

            "Th'homme's body become metal, if Petey get's within sight 'a Magneto…"

            "Look, the plan only sort of works without him, it can still work with him. He just can't stay armored." He looked at her and she looked as if she might cry. She played the girl card and Remy folded.  

*          *          *

            Betsy eyes flickered open again at 2:17. It was a little early, but Remy was there. He smiled at her as if he knew something she didn't. The sight made her smile back. 

            "Magneto's asleep." He smiled wide enough to reveal his white teeth. She sat up.

            "I have to get dressed, then we have to talk to Pyro." Remy rolled his eyes. 

            "Pyro ain't like Petey." Betsy dressed without taking off her robe, so Remy could stay in the room. 

            "How so?" She spat out over her shoulder, slipping on her boots.

            "He… he… jus' ain't." Remy said crossing his arms. She finished dressing and took off her robe. She swiftly began darting out of the room, grabbing Remy's arm and pulling him out with her. They galloped down the hall and stopped at a door. She dropped Remy's arm.

            "Okay…" She started. He knew what she meant, but he played dumb. "Oh, c'mon, just pick the lock." He shook his head. "Fine, I'll wake him up, but remember, he's got lighters in there…" Remy sighed and figured it would just be safer to pick the lock and take Pyro's lighters before they woke him up. He pulled his lock picking kit out of a pocket in his coat and went to work.

            In one swift motion, the door opened and Remy was inside plucking up lighters all over the room. Betsy sat down on the bed facing Pyro. He was sitting up halfway. It looked like he fell asleep writing because there was a notebook and a pencil in the bed with him. Betsy stared intently at his eyes. Within the minute, Pyro's eyelids began twitching until they opened. When his eyes focused on Betsy, sitting so close in front of him, he jumped.

            "What 'er you two doin' in here?" He shouted.

            "Shut up." Remy snapped back.

            "Remy and I are bustin' outta here… Come with us." Betsy whispered.

            "Wait a minute, I must still be dreamin'. What'd you just say?" Betsy was surprised at Pyro's less than enthusiastic response. "I must be dreamin' cause you were sittin' just like that… but you were topless." Betsy quickly forgot what she was thinking about and flashed him an angry look.

            "An, t'think, you our resident saint." Remy crossed his arms as he shook his head at Pyro.

            "Wait a tick…" Pyro looked at Betsy, than at Remy, than back to Betsy. "You're serious, aren't you?" Betsy nodded. "Why would you want to leave here? The world out there hates you… They're jealous."

            "No," Betsy replied, "They're scared thanks to you all." Pyro tilted his head, as what she said sounded familiar from some where. "We're going to join the X-Men, John… or is it St. John? Whatever--" Pyro interrupted her.

            "Don't call me that, you trollop! I'm a mutant first, a member of society second. My name is Pyro." Betsy was more shocked by his words than offended by them. She found herself scrambling for a response.

            "But… don't you want to go to school?" Was all she could spit out. Pyro blinked at her mere inability to comprehend his words.

            "Why would I want to go t'a school where people are too busy accusin' me because I'm a mutant when they ought ta be reverin' me." Betsy was speechless. She didn't think it was possible for someone who understood the value of education to sound so completely uneducated. She never once even believed someone could ever actually espouse the Acolyte ideals and believe them in their heart. Pyro was crazy about fire… but this was too much for Betsy. She was stunned. She didn't react as Pyro pushed her aside and got up from his bed.

            "I'm tellin' Magneto about this." He walked over to the door when Remy stepped in his way.

            "Remy can't be lettin' you do dat, mon ami." Pyro's eyes began to twitch with anger. He started looking all over the room for a lighter.

            "You stole all my lighters again, didn't you? You pathetic, backwoods thief!" He shouted at Remy.  Then he blinked his eyes a little and his head swayed. It took some time but he finally fell to his knees and then the floor. Betsy stood behind him, looking down at him sadly.

            "It was only a small one, I couldn't focus. I not sure how long it'll last." Remy, sensing her fear, took her hand.

            "Better get goin'. Dis our only chance."

            "What about Peter and Sabretooth?" She stopped him.

            "Sabretooth gone awol. He only an Acolyte when he vacationin' from lookin' ta kill Wolverine."

            "Oh."

            "Do we have time for Peter?" He left it up to Betsy and he wouldn't contest her decision. Her cause was a good one and it was important to her. She looked back at Pyro. "Can you give him another one?" He tried to find a way to make it work.

            "No, it would kill him." She looked at Pyro and feared for the future of the world. 

            "Betts--" Remy said, asking for an answer to his previous question. She never took her eyes off Pyro, but she shook her head. She looked back at Remy and wiped a tear from her face.

            "We have to go now." She said. He took her hand and they ran. They stopped at another door. Remy put his hand on the knob and it began to glow. The molecules in the knob grew unstable and separated out, dissolving the knob. Remy gently pushed the door open and gestured her in. Her stayed on guard in the door way. There was nothing he could do in Magneto's chamber. It was all up to Betsy, who, only moments ago, had been too frazzled to get off a decent psionic dagger. 

            Inside, Betsy crept slowly toward the bed, where Magneto slept. For a moment, she just looked at him. He was perhaps the most feared mutant in the world… behind Apocalypse. And no one knew about Sinister, really. Magneto was feared by both human and mutant alike. Something they could agree on was hating Magneto. Shaking off her thoughts, she gently placed her hands on his forehead. He twitched as at her cold, nervous, sweaty hands. It made her heart jump. When he returned to his peaceful sleep, she closed her eyes to focus. This lasted only a few seconds as Magneto began to open his eyes.

            He grabbed her wrists before she was fully aware of what was going on. Lucky for her, Gambit was a talented watchman, and flung a few charged playing cards into the room with precise aim.  Magneto was caught off guard and let go of Betsy. She was shocked at all that was going on around her. Gambit charged a few more cards in the bedroom and jumped on top of Betsy to protect her from the flying debris as the room exploded. As the dust flew about, Gambit grabbed Betsy and dragged her out of the room. They ran down the long metal hallway, Gambit's steel boot, and Psylocke's purple heels clanging on the floor. They heard over the speaker system, "Colossus, Pyro, to the docking bay, NOW!"

            Gambit finally let go of Psylocke once they reached the hanger bay, filled with spheres. They walked over to the large one, usually reserved for Magneto himself, but it was the only on big enough to fit them both comfortably. 

            "Did it work?" Gambit looked at Psylocke as they both choked for air. Betsy nodded her head and put her hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and focused on the orb. For what seemed like an eternity, but was only a mere few seconds, nothing happened. Then finally, the orb began to shake. Gambit was distracted by what he thought sounded like a few crashes of thunder.  He turned his head to see Colossus charging for them at top speed, in his armored form. "C'mon, Betts, you gotta hurry dis up." Finally the orb began to open. Gambit looked back to see Colossus getting closer. When the sphere was open, Psylocke motioned for Gambit to get in. He did, thinking Psylocke was right behind him. Instead, she turned to face Colossus, still charging.

            "Peter, come with us." She shouted. Gambit popped his head back up out of the sphere.

            "Betsy, what the hell are you doin'?" She ignored him.

            "Peter, come with us, Professor Xavier will help you, I promise." Colossus stopped and stared down at the small girl with his white eyes. "I know where Illyana is." She said in response to his glare. She didn't back down at his intimidating stance. He looked over at Gambit in the orb. He crouched back down hoping not be seen. Colossus looked back at Psylocke, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not leaving without you, Peter." He looked back at the open orb. He took slow clashing step after slow crashing step. He reached into the orb and pulled Gambit out by the collar of his trench coat. He dangled him a good three feet off the floor. Gambit flashed him a fake smile hoping to earn some mercy. Colossus stared deeply at him, bringing him closer to his own stoic, steel face.

            "Ladies first." He put Gambit on the ground and held out his other hand. Gambit and Psylocke were both stunned and elated. "We must hurry. When Magneto comes I must revert back to my flesh form. I will be of no use." They said nothing. Psylocke took his hand and he helped her into the sphere, and she crouched down. Gambit and Colossus saw Magneto coming. Colossus's armor quickly turned to skin. Gambit helped him into the orb, and then jumped in himself. He crouched down and the sphere shut on top of him. Quickly, the sphere took off from the ground and the door to the outside world opened. The orb slipped out like a marble through a straw, and the big doors shut behind them. Magneto stood there staring at the door as Pyro came running up to his side, heaving from rushing.

            "Where have you been?" Magneto said without looking at him.

            "Sorry. Mate. She knocked me out." Magneto turned around and started walking back down the hall. "What, that's it? You just let them go?" 

            "Yes, we let them go. We have been ambushed by mutiny. I must regroup."

            "You? What about me?" Pyro yelled down the hallway.

            "Go live with the brotherhood, Pyro." Magneto waved a hand and an orb opened. When Magneto finally disappeared from view, Pyro kicked the wall.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, thanks for reading… no one reviewed my last chapter… but that's okay. A little bit of Romyness, finally!!! Only a taste of what's to come. Alrighty, here you go!

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            Rogue sat straight up in bed and started smacking herself in the head. When the sound grew quite loud, she cut it out, fearing she might wake Kitty. She grabbed the notebook off her nightstand and quietly, but quickly, crept out of the room. She went down to the kitchen and flipped on the light switch, reeling at the strain on her eyes, but adjusting rapidly. She grabbed a soda from the fridge, popped the tab, and sat down at the table. She flipped open the filled pages of the notebook, dented with frenetic writing. She looked through the pages, wondering if some of the memories might be her own. She could tell whose they were when they were X-Men memories, she knew just about everyone's background. She could guess with the brotherhood pretty well too. She was left, though, with a heap of Acolyte memories, a lot of which seemed shrouded in sadness, or hate, or fear or regret. Every now and then, there was a flash of Irene she couldn't tell if I was hers, or Mystique's. A loving gaze at Scott that made her cringe, thinking she may have something in common with Jean. She focused now on the memory that had roused her from her sleep. She flipped to the first page with empty space and wrote what she saw. It was Pietro's memory this time.

            The world went in slow motion. He was standing in the kitchen. His father, Django, had just told him and his twin sister, Wanda, the truth about their parents. Their real father had scared their real mother with his dream, and died giving birth to them. The children had been lied to their whole lives. HE hunched his shoulders meagerly while Wanda screamed in anger. Pietro felt betrayed, but he could understand why his father… or Mr. Maximoff… no, father. Django Maximoff had always been his father and always would be. Pietro watched as Wanda's face turned red. The house began to rumble. Pietro knew what was going on, and he was afraid. 

            Pietro was only 11, his powers had just manifested, but he didn't tell anyone. He didn't who, or what, why. All he knew was that this is the way it is, and he can't change it. But he could control himself. Wanda on the other hand, was always ruled by her emotions. The rumbling caused bits and pieces of the house to begin to fall. The rest of his family seemed blind to what was going on around them, as Wanda continued to cry and scream, and his mother and father tried in vain to comfort her, disregarding their own safety. Pietro stepped in. He grabbed his mother and threw her over his shoulder. She was heavy, but he was tall for his age, lanky, but tall. And he wouldn't be carrying her long anyway. In a silver streak, he raced his mother out side, ran back in the house for his father, and before they knew it, they were both standing outside in the front lawn. As they marveled at how they got outside, Pietro had raced back into the house, dodging piece after piece of falling debris.

            He snatched Wanda and brought her outside, still screaming, not knowing what was happening to the house. She did manage to realize that she was being taken against her will. In an attempt to escape, she flailed her arms. The house behind then was suddenly consumed in flames. Reaching the end of the driveway, he sat Wanda down, her crying caused by the exhaustion it took to expend her powers for the first time. Pietro looked p to see the Maximoffs, as well as the whole neighborhood, sanding outside, staring at the two children. Pietro didn't know what to do until someone broke the silence.

            "Did you see what they did?" a random neighbor yelled.

            "He ran, fast as lightning." Said another.

            "Like quicksilver!"

            "And the little girl destroyed that house!"

            "Rocked its very foundation, set it on fire!" They all yelled.

            "She's a witch!!" was final call that rang out before everyone began yelling all at once. Wanda sat on the ground, stunned by the event that had just taken place. Her mind was two steps behind her.

            "No!" the Maximoff's pleaded. "They are our children!"

            "What's to stop 'em from doing that to my house?" Someone from the crowed yelled. Cheers arose, as the crowd approached Wanda and Pietro. People blew past the Maximoffs without notice. Sirens from fire engines could be heard in the distance. Pietro picked up his sister and ran, as fast as he could. He ran straight into the woods and didn't look back until he could see for sure they had lost the mob. He sat Wanda down, still struggling for a grip on the moment. He sat next to her, propped up against a tree. Wanda slowly looked over at him as he ran a hand through his white hair, thinking about what to do next.

            "Pietro…" Wanda asked, fear in her voice. "What are we?" Her eyes were wide, tired and scared. So were his, as he didn't have an answer… but then, he didn't need one.

            "You, my children, would be Homo Superior… mutants."

            That is where the film in Rogue's mind ended. She knew the mysterious voice was Magneto's, but she never realized Wanda and Pietro's struggle, or devotion to each other. She had always assumed that Pietro cared for no one but himself, but in his heart, she felt only fear for his sister, not a single, egocentric thought. 

            Rogue closed the notebook and tossed the soda can in the recycling bin. She looked at the clock, 4:10. She would have to get up soon for her private session with Logan. She decided to get some sleep while she still could. She was stopped as an alarm in the room went off. A red blinking light buzzed on the security pad next to the light switch. She tried to figure out which button would give her a visual of the intruder, but she was too tired to do much of anything. A few seconds later, Scott and Logan jumped in the room, uniformed.

            "What is it Rogue?" Scott commanded.

            "Ah don' know. Ah can't fahnd the stupid button."

            "Hurry up and shut off the buzzer." Logan growled. Scott leaned in over Rogue's shoulder to find the button. She could smell the toothpaste on his breath from before he went to bed. She quickly backed away, as his face was too close for comfort. Then Jean and the professor entered the room.

*BAMF!*

            Kurt ported in. Rogue took three steps from Scott after Jean threw her and evil glare.

            "Ah'm gonna go get mah uniform." She ran upstairs as Kitty phased through the ceiling, yawning.

            "Like, what's the big deal?" Kitty said, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

            "Magneto." Scott said. The monitor showed a metal orb, hurling through the air. The many weapons on the premises were firing at the sphere to no avail.

            "Cerebro, disarm security protection grid." The professor announced to the computer that controlled the weapons. The guns stopped firing. "Everyone, go outside, but be careful. The orb is flying too erratically for it to be Magneto in his right mind. We mustn't be hostile." With that, the team moved out. They stood out on the front steps, watching the sphere grow closer to them. It had no grace in the way it sliced through the night sky, like a drunken butcher having a seizure. Rogue and the professor joined them outside, watching the metal transport fall to the ground. It crashed with the sound of a meteor, throwing dirt and grass up from the lawn and into the air like a tidal wave. Jean quickly threw up a telekinetic shield to protect them all. The orb skidded closer, but finally came to a complete stop. The team waited as nothing happened for a minute or so… eerily.

            Suddenly, the sound of air escaping could be heard as the doors of the orb retracted. Once again, a frightening silence filled the air. Two hands appeared on each side of the opening. The occupant hoisted himself out and one foot on each side of the opening, standing, straightening himself out. Wolverine unsheathed his claws, and Cyclops placed a hand on his visor. The boy looked up at the team in front of him, preparing for war. 

            "Whoa… Whoa…" He put his hands in the air, showing he was unarmed. The darkness and position of the moon light kept his identity hidden until his eyes flashed.

            "You!" Rogue blurted out, unconsciously, at the sight of red eyes.

            "Aw, chère, you so happy to see Gambit again, you brought him the welcomin' committee…" Remy said, still perched on the doors of the sphere. Rogue scoffed, crossed her arms, and turned her body away from him. Remy dropped the cocky smile that had crept over his lips.

            "Acolyte…" Wolverine growled through his teeth. Remy jumped down from the sphere, and moved aside, as Peter made his entrance. He stood up, his upper body visible in the opening. He began to change his body into organic steel, growing to twice his original height. He stepped out of the orb, gingerly and silently. 

            "Aw man…" Kurt whined. "If another Acolyte comes out of zere, we're in trouble." Peter stood aside, allowing the third passenger to get out. She placed her hands on the opening, just like Remy had. She lifted herself out and jumped gracefully on the ground.

            "Oh man," she grumbled, avoiding looking at the team assembled in front of her. "Who was flying that thing?"

            "From the parking job, it appears to have been Remy." Peter said with no expression.

            "Was that a joke?" Betsy asked honestly, as there was no way for her to be sure. Peter couldn't help himself as a small smile drew itself across his metal face. "Petey pure heart just made fun of you, Remy!" Remy looked slightly offended. "It was a good one, too!" Peter began to blush, ever so slightly as she made a fuss over him. The three bantered as they were not interrupted by anyone. The X-Men stood there, shocked at the company in front of them, and their demeanor.

            "Betsy?" Scott's jaw dropped. At hearing her name, she was forced to confront the X-Men, a bunch of tired, angry, confused teenagers, all waiting to attack her.

            "Uh, hi Scott, how's it going?"

*          *          *

            "Betsy… Wh- What are you do--… I mean… you're an… an … an Acolyte?" Scott stuttered in disbelief. Betsy didn't realize the impact she'd had on Scott, and vice versa. She felt guilty for betraying him. Scott just felt stupid. All this time he'd been worrying over her and thinking of the X-Man she could make, only to find she'd refused their help, their trust, their _love, to join their worst enemies. Betsy could feel Scott's hidden eyes piercing her very core, so she looked at the ground to avoid it. Her vulnerability mixed with the air to draw a chill up her spine. She grabbed her bare shoulders._

            "It's a bit drafty out, d'you think we might be able to come inside?"

            "Of course." The professor answered for the group.

            "As long as ya don' blow up the house." Rogue continued, aiming her glib comment directly at Remy.

            "Yeah, or punch through a wall." Kitty spoke up, blushing at Peter.

            "Gambit do anyt'ing for a femme… so long as she ask nicely." They walked in to the house, calmly and suspiciously watching each other.

            When they reconvened in the professor's study, Peter, Betsy, and Remy all sat, shoulders slumped on the sofa. Betsy was now wearing Remy's trench coat, and a pair of Xavier's Institute scrubs.

            "So you kids just planned on waltzing right in here and joining the X-Men?" Logan grumbled, chastising them.

            "It's not like that at all…" Betsy pleaded, as she had been the past hour explaining their journey.

            "Remy t'ink de Wolverine need to go for a walk, if he gonna make Betsy feel bad." Remy mumbled, hoping to reach Logan's super hearing. He knew he'd succeeded when Logan threw him a glare of death.

            "Betsy, Remy…" The professor attempted to change the subject. "school is starting back up soon, and due to our age, I expect you both to be in attendance." Betsy nodded, Remy grumbled. She elbowed him in the ribs, and he nodded in kind. "Rogue… will you take our newest recruits for a tour of their new home?" Rogue sighed in acceptance. Remy and Peter got up to follow her when Betsy yanked at Peter's arm.

            "Uh, Peter and I were hoping to speak to the professor some more. You two go ahead." Peter looked down at Betsy, still holding his hand. The professor nodded at Rogue and Remy. Kurt, feeling extremely protective, began to follow them out.

            "Kurt, you Jean and Scott should go prepare your rooms for your new roommates." The professor stopped him dead in his tracks. Remy and Rogue were already out of the room.

            "But professor… I don't trust zat one… not with mein sister."

            "Get outta here, elf." Logan answered back for Xavier. Kurt waved his tail around sighed, then ported out

*BAMF!*

            Scott and Jean left the room. 

            "What can I help you with Miss Braddock, Mr. Rasputin?" The professor wheeled himself behind his desk.

            "We were hoping to speak with you alone." Betsy answered, looking up at Logan. He was offended that she would find him the slightest bit too untrustworthy for what they had to say… especially after what she had just done. The professor merely nodded at him. Logan growled again as he stormed out of the room.

            "Alright now, what's on your minds?"

            "You've done so much for us already." Peter responded, graciously.

            "So long as you promise to fight along side us for peace Peter, you're welcome." The professor replied. He waited for Peter to continue. Peter felt greedy asking for more from the generous man, but Betsy egged him on.

            "Tell him." She said.

            "What is it, Peter?" The professor asked again.

            "It is my sister, Illyana." Peter finally admitted. "Magneto has held her captive to keep me in his service. Betsy says she knows where."

            "Oh, right." Betsy began to wrack her brain. "Hmmm…" She closed her eyes to focus. "Uh… Scotland, I think… a MacTaggart Island…" She said, unsure. Peter's face grew worried at Betsy's uncertainty.

            "Just a minute…" The professor interrupted. "Do you mean Dr. MacTaggart, on Muir Island?"

            "Yes! That's it!" Betsy exclaimed.

            "Peter, your sister is a mutant as well?" Peter nodded. "Is she sick?" the professor continued. Peter nodded again. 

            "I fear for her health." He murmured. The professor wheeled himself to Peter's side.

            "I can promise you, Peter that your sister is in good hands, receiving the best medical care for mutants on the planet." Peter forced out a smile once again in appreciation for the man's kindness. "I will make arrangements for us to go there as soon as possible."

            "I will see Illyana?" Peter's face lit up.

            "As soon as I contact Moira. I'll have Kitty show you to your rooms so you two can get some rest." Betsy looked at Peter and smiled warmly.

            "I told you so." She said as she threw her arms around him and hugged him.

*          *          *

            Rogue walked down the hallway, with her arms crossed, unfolding them every once in a while to point out various places of interest. Remy followed closely behind, paying more attention to her than to what she was saying. He found himself fixated on the way her hips swung when she walked. He wasn't particularly involved with her butt, but the movement of her hips and waist was mesmerizing.

            "Are you listenin' to me?" She finally snapped around she quit hearing glazed over "uh-huh"s. She of course noticed the draw of his attention. "What're you starin'at?"

            "Oh, uh… just a work of art, chère…" He was caught off guard. No girl had ever been able to do that to him, to make him feel that way. She threw an evil look at him, and then turned back around. She smiled and blushed to herself as she started walking again. No guy had ever stared at her like that. She watched as guys swooned over Jean, and in some cases, wished it was her. But he _was staring at __her. She didn't realize it, but she stood up straighter for him now. She felt his gaze on her ass once again and snapped back around._

             "Listen, uh… swamp rat, you wanna keep those creepy eyes 'a yer's, then keep 'em offa me." She barked at him. He smiled a cocky smile at her and walked to her side.

            "Jus' too temptin' back dere." He whispered to her. She looked up to his eyes and for a moment she saw honesty, but then a memory flashed in her mind, a blonde chick with purple eyes. She shook her head to focus on her task. 

            "Ah guess Ah'll show you the lower levels now." They stopped at an elevator. She pressed the button and waited. Neither of them said anything at first. For the first time in his life, Remy didn't know what to say to a girl.

            "So… where ya from, chère?" Rogue winced. She didn't know why he wouldn't use her name. 

            "Mississippi." She said curtly. He just looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. He figured she would ask back. She wanted to make him sweat, so she waited to see how he would react.

            "I'm from New Orleans." He said finally. His accent slurred together the name of the city into one word. She made him so nervous. His empathy couldn't pick up on what she was feeling. He never would openly come out and say anything about his past. It's not that he's ashamed of it, in fact, he's quite proud of his southern roots, even if they aren't proud of him. He's always been used to bubbly blonde girls swooning at his feet, always breaking the ice by asking him about his accent, always. He tried once again to read her emotions, but came up with scrambled feelings. "Le vieux carre…" he finally said. "Well, de backwoods, anyhow."

            "The bayous of Louisiana?" she asked, seeming genuinely interested. He nodded proudly. She looked back at the elevator and smiled. "Lahk Ah said, _swamp _rat." The elevator took an interminably long time, but finally arrived, and they got on. Remy was afraid he was losing her… if he ever had her.

            "D'you smell that?" he said randomly. He began sniffing the air. Desperate times called for desperate measures. "Smells like vanilla." He was moving all over the cramped elevator. He would put his gloved hand on her shoulder to sniff around her without bumping into her. Finally, she was getting annoyed and frustrated.

            "Ah use vanilla shampoo." She said, trying to make him calm down. HE sniffed her hair, brushing his chin against her right shoulder. She could feel his breath on her ear.

            "Smells good." He finally whispered. She reveled in the closeness for a second, losing her self in the rhythm of her quickening heartbeat. It had been a long time since she had any real indication she was actually alive. She knew she wasn't dead, but only because she continued to walk around, day to day. But this made his closeness made her feel alive. She quickly put a hand on his chest and pushed him hard against the other side of the elevator two or three feet away. He banged his shoulder blades against the metal wall.

            "Une petite merci woulda been enough, chère."

            "You got too close." She yelled, folding back up in the corner. He felt bad. He never realized how fragile she was. Her powers made her so vulnerable. Her walls were thick. It made Remy think to himself, there was no fortress he couldn't penetrate.

            "Desolé, Roguey… Sorry." She snarled at that name. 

            "That musta' been the stupidest pick up line Ah've ever heard."

            "Forgive me, chère. You make Remy weak." Rogue looked at him. He blushed, smiled, and then looked at the floor, still smiling. Her eyes widened at his exposed honesty. She knew it was true because she would have done the same thing. She looked at the corner of the floor and smiled to herself. Just then, the elevator doors opened.

*          *          *

            "So, like, where are you guys from?" Kitty said, being openly friendly despite her exhaustion at 5:30 in the morning. She walked through the mansion like a tour guide.

            "I am from Siberia, in Russia." Peter said.

            "Just outside of London." Betsy answered.

            "Wow, those are some pretty exciting places." Kitty replied. "Oh, right there's the kitchen." She pointed.

            "What about you, Katya?" Kitty looked back at Peter, and arched an eyebrow. 

            "What did you call me?"

            "I'm sorry." Peter blushed. "I meant no offense."

            "No, I like it… it sounds… I dunno, but I like it." She smiled and he responded in kind. They continued on with the tour. "I'm from a suburb of Chicago." She continued.

            "I've never been there. Chicago sounds pretty exciting." Betsy said. 

            "Sure, Chicago is, but I'm from outside it…" Kitty trailed off. "Oh, there's Kurt's room… and I guess Remy's now too. And here's Scott's roo—Yours and Scott's room." She corrected herself.

            "I thank you for the tour. I will see you both in the morning. Good night Betsy, good night Katya." Peter said, disappearing into the room.

            "Good night." The girls responded in unison.

            "Actually, it should be good morning…" Betsy said to herself. 

            "Yeah…" Kitty yawned. "It's already light out. I'm so glad it's summer."

            "Right." Betsy replied solemnly. It had been a long time since summer meant school or not.

            "Well, Jean's room is right there." Kitty pointed to the room across the hall. 

            "You know, Kitty, I haven't got any clothes. Do you think maybe we could go shopping tomorrow or something?" Kitty's eyes brightened at the prospect of the mall.

            "Sure! You mean later today though, right?" Betsy chuckled. 

            "Right. I'll get Remy to go; you see if Rogue'll come?"

            "Yeah."

            "Great. We can finish the tour some other time, I guess."

            "Yeah." 

            "Yeah, well, thanks."

            "See ya later, Betsy." Betsy watched as Kitty walked down the hallway and phased into her room. She felt at home. 


	10. Chapter 10

Here's another chapter… not a lot of Romy, but it's comin' up in a chapter or two, and loads of it, don't worry. Thanks for reading and reviewing my story. I already have the next chapter or two written, so I'll update soon! Thanks again! And if you're reading my story, but not reviewing… c'mon… would it kill ya?

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            *          

            "Uggghhh… What do you want?" Betsy grumbled at 9:30 later that morning.

            "C'mon Betsy, I've got to assess you and the Cajun." Logan said, trying to pull her out of the bed.

            "Assess us how?" She looked up at him through a tattered nest of dark purple hair.

            "Your powers. We're goin' for a workout, now get up and get dressed and meet me in the danger room in twenty minutes." He walked out of the room to avoid any more of her whining in her annoying British accent. 

            "The danger what?" Betsy tried to yell at him but he ignored her. "Bloody Christ… what am I supposed to wear?" She murmured to herself. She got up and it took her a second to orient herself 

            "Here." She heard a soft voice say to her. She looked to the door and there was everyone's favorite red head, Jean. "It's your new uniform." Jean ripped a black plastic bag off the hanger she held up, like a magician revealing the box after making the rabbit disappear. Betsy was moved by what she saw. It was just like her Nasty Boy uniform, but all the random pieces of purple material were connected by a thin black material. He purple boots were longer heeled, but still thigh high. And instead of a purple sash, there was a yellow utility belt with an X-Men logo on the clasp. "And Logan says that any trained samurai knows how to use these." Jean said, holding out a long set of swords. "They fit in the belt." 

            "Katana knives." Betsy identified them as her jaw dropped slightly. 

            "The professor thought your old uniform was a bit revealing." Betsy nodded without taking her eyes off the uniform as Jean laid it on her perfectly made bed. "I'll show you to the danger room when you're ready." Jean said as she walked out of the room. 

            "Oh, hey, d'you have a hair brush I could use?" Betsy called out just before she left.

            "Oh… you're not gonna get purple hair in it, are you?" Betsy looked puzzled by the complete randomness of the question.

            "I don't have much of choice." Betsy said once she decided Jean was serious about the question.

            "Fine." Jean pouted. "It's in the middle drawer, under the vanity." Betsy narrowed her eyes at Jean as she left the room. She changed into her X-Men uniform, smoothing out every wrinkle, carefully and with pride. She brushed her fine, waist long purple hair, then plucked every last one out of Jean's hair brush. She yawned and rubbed sleep out of her eyes then snapped on her belt and slipped her knives in it. She felt strong and beautiful in this uniform, not slutty and distracting like before. She walked out of the room with a model's posture, finding Jean standing just outside the door way.

             "Oh, don't worry, I cleaned your brush." Betsy said as genuinely as possible.

            "Good." Jean leaned in to shut the door behind Betsy. "Oh, you're not going to make your bed?"

            "I haven't got time." Betsy said, surprised as Jean's pushiness.

            "Here's your wrist communicator, you wear it all the time." Jean ordered. She handed it to her and Betsy slapped it on. "The danger room is right this way." Jean started walking down the hall to the elevator.

            "The danger room… that sounds like fun." Betsy said with a smile.

*          *          *

            Kitty, Logan, Rogue, Hank, Ororo, Scott, and Xavier were all waiting when Jean and Betsy arrived.

            "Oh! You all turned out to see my show!" Betsy was excited at the prospect of audience watching her display her power against this "danger room" that everyone is so afraid of. 

*BAMF!*

            Kurt and Remy popped in. Remy was rather dizzy, as he was unused to Nightcrawler's teleportation, but he quickly regained his composure.

            "T'anks for the ride, mon ami."

            "Don't get used to it…" Kurt mumbled, still leery of the new X-Man.

            "Kurt…" Kitty chided him, ever the diplomat.

            "Lemme see your new uniform!" Betsy said to Remy, lifting open his trench coat. It revealed a one piece black jumpsuit, tight enough to show off his lanky muscles with a big pinkish red 'X' across the chest. His boots were the same steel, with X's over the knee plates. "Ooooh… it's nice." She approved.

            "Aww… dey took all de skin outta yours." Remy remarked about Betsy.

            "That's charmin'." Rogue said under her breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear it.

            "I dress to impress an' I aim ta please." Remy said back to her.

            "Oh, that reminds me," Betsy interrupted, "Kitty and I are going shopping later, you wanna come?"

            "D'accord." Remy agreed.

            "Anyone else?" Betsy asked the group.

            "I'm still grounded." Kurt grumbled.

            "Jean and I have plans." Scott said for the first time all morning.

            "Ah'll go." Rogue said. Everyone looked at her in disbelief. "What?" she barked defensively.

            "Great! Once we get this over with, we'll go." Betsy shouted.

            "Well, good luck, Betsy and Remy. Just remember, this is a test of your skills, not a battle. When it gets to be too much for you, just say so and Logan will end the simulation." The professor said as he went down the hallway to the elevator and pressed the button.

            "You mean 'if', M'sieu." Remy said. The professor glanced back to him and smiled.

            "Peter and I are to leave for Scotland soon. Logan, don't be too hard on them, apparently they have no idea what they've gotten themselves into." Xavier disappeared into the elevator.

            "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" Remy asked in response to the professor's warning. His French was received with blank stares. "What is dis, whas' goin' on?" he translated.

            "You guys are going on a run through one of Logan's sessions." Scott said as they all moved off to go up to the control room. Betsy and Remy were confused at Scott's words as the big metal doors behind them opened to reveal an even bigger metal room.

            "That s'posed t'be hard or somethin'?" Remy replied to the snickers and evil grins.

*          *          *

            Gambit and Psylocke stood poised in the muddle of the danger room floor. At first, one human like droid came at each of them, arms extended, each arm forming into a mallet, slowly waving up and down. Gambit flung a few heavily charged playing cards at it and the robot was quickly disabled. Psylocke grabbed one of the arms and the flipped the robot over it, knocking its head off with her foot. 

            "Was that all?" Psylocke said to Gambit over her shoulder, shocked. He shrugged his shoulders and her often dormant precognitive sense flashed. "DUCK!!" She shouted as heat seeking laser guns appeared out of the walls, all 360 degrees of the room. They quickly learned that these guns wouldn't kill, but left nasty painful welts when they hit. Gambit threw up a bunch of charged playing cards to divert the laser fire. He vaulted Betsy up, forming a step with his hands and fingers. She landed elegantly on top of one of the big bulky metal weapons, and unsheathed one of her katana knives from her hip. She slashed at the gun next to the crouched on and it fell to the floor. Playing cards continued to explode next to her head, and Gambit tried to protect her from the laser fire aimed at her. She struggled to maintain her balance as the gun thrashed to fire at the explosive cards, but being so well trained in the martial arts, she had the patience to anticipate each gyration the machine took, and adapt accordingly. Gambit was getting impatient though, as he ended up taking at hit or two in the arms once in a while. He started charging the cards for longer, making each explosion greater, and knocking off some of the guns himself. Psylocke jumped to another shooter and sliced the one she had been on, off the wall. They continued with this until each gun had been disabled. Psylocke stood on top of the last one. She leaned down and grabbed the arm that held the guns fixed to the walls and swung from it with one arm. She planted a foot on the ledge of the wall from where the weapons extruded. As she slashed the gun off the wall, she fell backward, going into a flip before she landed safely on the ground. Gambit looked at her, nursing what would become new bruises on his arms. 

            "You wanna do a show, go join de ballet, Betts. I'm hurtin' here." He said to her. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Once again, out of the massive walls of the room, various objects flew out and sailed through the room. Some were spinning razor disks; others were metal orbs about the size of baseballs. Psylocke did the best she could to slice apart as many of them as possible, but she was still only human, and her mutation helped her little with her reaction time. Gambit, however, was able to put most of the threat out as he never missed his target. Just about every object that posed a threat to either of them was met with a kinetically explosive playing card. Every once in a while, he let a metal ball slip and hit her, payback for the laser fire. As soon as that hazard was diffused, they found themselves surrounded by six, bigger, and better armed robots, equipped with laser guns on their arms.

            "If you don't think you can handle it, just say so." Logan called down from the control room hanging in the center of the ceiling. Gambit and Psylocke both smiled as they stepped backward toward each other.

            "Bring it on!" They both yelled back, meeting Logan's challenge.

            "Your funerals." Scott said, making them both chuckle. Four more bots then joined the circle. Gambit and Psylocke stood back to back. Gambit held up an entire deck of cards and charged the whole thing. He bent the deck back, releasing them all into the air. He managed to disable three of the robots right off the bat, before they began shooting at them. As the bots began shooting, Gambit ducked down, and Psylocke ripped out her second her sword. Using her patience, she aimed the blades of the swords so that they reflected every laser beam back at them. The thick robots were rather immune, but she was able to put down another four, leaving only three. Psylocke pulled one over its shoulder, and Gambit shoved a handful of explosive cards in its mouth, and then used his staff to fling it across the room. It hit the wall and exploded, distracting the two heat seeking robots that were left. Once the explosion had dissipated, the robots were focused back on Psylocke and Gambit. They each had one left.  They pressed their backs against each other and locked elbows. With their feet, they each pushed themselves off a bot and flipped up in the air. Gambit charged his staff, making it like a hot poker. He sliced the bot Psylocke had pushed off of as he came back down, and Psylocke did the same to the other bot with the knife she had not dropped. The two both landed expertly on their feet. All the on lookers were fascinated.

            "Ohmigod." Jean muttered.

            "Wow." Kurt said.

            "That was amazing. That was 30 laser guns, twelve bots, and 3 minutes in the projectile space." Scott said, taking inventory.

            "And they barely broke a sweat!" Kitty giggled. 

            "Well, we'll just have to see what it'll take." Logan said as he was itching to press more buttons. Storm grabbed his hand.

            "Let it go, Logan, you can play with them some more some other time." Logan pouted. Rogue just smiled at all that had happened.

            Back on the floor, Gambit and Psylocke had to catch their breath. "Wow… that felt good." Betsy said.

            "Oui. Been a long time since we fought t'gether like that." He replied.

            "You two are dismissed." Hanks called down to them as the big metal doors reopened.

*          *          *         

            Rogue and Kitty were waiting outside by the car Rogue and Kurt will share until 18th birthdays. Each student at the Xavier Institute gets their own car on their 18th birthday, but since no one who is 18 goes to Bayville High anymore, Kurt and Rogue have their car they share. 

            "They were like, awesome this morning." Kitty said, preening her hair using the reflection in side view mirror.

            "Yeah…" Rogue said, only half way paying attention.

            "Remy is totally hot." Kitty said bluntly.

            "Yeah… wait, what?" Rogue was snapped back into consciousness.

            "Well he is. He's totally not my type, but he has a cute butt."

            "Type? What's this _type_? How do you know what your type is?" Rogue mocked Kitty.

            "I just know… I wonder if there's anything going on between him and Betsy."

            "No, there isn't." Rogue quickly got jealous, making Kitty kind of afraid.

            "Okay, geez… I was just saying…"

            "Well don't." Rogue said as Remy and Betsy walked up to join them.

            "Oh, hey guys!" Kitty said. Betsy and Remy were rather huddled up for a mid summer day. "What wrong?" Kitty said, noticing immediately.

            "Oh… it's nothing… let's just go but new clothes." Betsy said quickly, trying to jump in the car. Kitty's attention was immediately directed to what they were wearing; she stopped Betsy dead in her tracks.

            "Ohmigod… lemme see…" Betsy was wearing Jean's ¾ length light lavender top and tan cargo pants.

            "Ugh…" Betsy lamented. "It clashes horribly with my hair and it's so out of style. I haven't worn anything like this since my first show…" Betsy stopped realizing she shouldn't have said what she just did. Kitty and Rogue looked puzzled.

            "First show?" Kitty asked.

            "Uh, yeah, I used to a model a bit…" She mumbled and rushed what she said. "But look, Remy's wearing Scott's clothes!" She changed the subject, hoping they would ignore her slurred explanation. It seemed to work.

            "Ohmigod!!" Kitty shouted louder. Remy was practically swimming in Scott's dark blue sweater and khaki slacks.

            "Hey, for not havin' a two foot pole up my ass, I pull it off pretty well, non?" Kitty kept giggling.

            "Lay off Scott, alright?" Betsy said as they all climbed into the car. Kitty got behind Rogue, who was, of course, in the driver's seat. Remy sat in the passenger's seat and Betsy sat behind him. 

            "C'est seulement une blague, Betts… I kinda like the man, don' t'ink he like Remy, though."

            "He'll warm up to ya." Rogue comforted him. Remy smiled at her.

            "B'sides, Kurt only had 'bout ten of his X-Men uniforms." Remy tried to explain his appearance. "Not like he woulda lent me one anyhow. An' Cyke, mon dieu he's buff!" Kitty giggled and Rogue smiled to herself. Remy, awfully proud of his being able to win the affections of the girls, decided her felt comfortable to take his sunglasses off. Rogue noticed his eyes as she looked out the passenger side window to make a turn.

            "Remy, your eyes!" She shouted, surprised. Remy quickly grew worried.

            "What?"

            "Ohmigod!" Kitty shouted yet again.

            "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" He grew increasingly worried as he pressed his face to see if he could feel out the problem. Kitty and Rogue both seemed too speechless to tell him what was wrong.

            "They're brown… and white." Betsy said, leaning forward over the shoulder of Remy's seat to see what the commotion was about. He immediately grew vexed and flipped down the visor and opened the mirror. 

            "Zut alors…" he said, admiring his new, normal eyes.

            "I bet there's an image-inducer on your wrist communicator." Kitty concluded.

            "Oh…" all the others said, in a trance at Remy's eyes. He looked at himself in the little mirror as he blinked his eyes and rolled them around in his head, testing them out. They were like normal eyes. He'd never had normal eyes. He kept flickering them around in his head. He rolled them as far back as he could, and he asked the girls if the whites were still white. When he finally couldn't think of any other way to outsmart his brown and white eyes, he pulled his cheek down with middle finger, and slowly brought his index finger closer to his eye. He wondered if they felt the same.

            "OH MY GOD! YOU"RE NOT GONNA TOUCH YOUR EYEBALL, ARE YOU? THAT"S SO GROSS!!" Rogue shrieked. All three were completely shocked at her girliness. But Remy, of course, was still a guy. He continued to inch closer to his eye ball with his finger tip. "EW EW EW EW EW!!" She shouted some more. Remy just smiled.

            "You should see her when I put my contacts on in the morning." Kitty whispered to Betsy over Rogue's commotion. 

            "Remy, cut it out while she's driving." Betsy chided him. "Don't see how you all can drive on the wrong side of the road like this."

            "Ah prefer your real eyes anyhow." Rogue interrupted. Remy smiled honestly, but she didn't notice.

            "So, is there anything going on between you guys?" Kitty asked randomly.

            "Me and Remy?" Betsy laughed. 

            "Hey, what's wrong wit' Remy?" He said, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

            "It's no offense Remy. I love you, darling… I do, it's just that you're not my type."

            "Type?! What is with all this type stuff? How do you know what your type is?" Rogue yelled in frustration from the diver's seat.

            "Uh… well, it's a combination between what you want in a man and what you need in a man… or woman." Betsy acknowledged Remy, who smiled in appreciation.

            "See, I told ya." Kitty sneered at Rogue.

            "Alright Miss Genius Pryde, what's your type?" Rogue challenged her.

            "Okay, let's see… he hasta be cute… I like bad boys kinda, I guess…"

            "Oh puh-leeze…" Betsy interrupted.

            "What do you mean?" Kitty was slightly offended.

            "I mean… well, you have this air about you that you want to save people…" Remy glared back at her. "Well, we all do to a certain extent, that's why we're X-Men. What I'm saying is that you want a bad boy so you could save him and make him better. You'd tear your hair our over someone who disagrees with your own morals. And for one thing, you can't change a person that doesn't want to change, and most bad boys simply find their lives too easy to want to change. Your type is someone who makes _you_ want to be a better person, because you're always looking for ways to make that glow about you shine brighter." Kitty blushed at Betsy's blunt flattery, but everyone was silenced by her insight, regardless.

            "Oh." Kitty said.

            "What's your type?" Rogue asked Betsy.

            "My type?" She repeated. "Well… I need someone who's handsome on _all levels. Definitely someone very sophisticated and refined, someone whose intellect matches my own."_

            "Wow… that don' sound at all snobby…" Remy mumbled sarcastically.

            "Just because it's not you doesn't mean it's snobby, Remy… like I said, you're not my type." She retorted.

            "No, it's definitely snobby." Kitty said.

            "Well, that's not all. I don't merely want someone who looks good on my arm, he can't be money obsessed and distant like most of those guys are, I've had plenty of that in my life. But he also can't be a pushover. That's why Remy doesn't float my boat, all I have to do is cry and I get whatever I want."

            "Noticed that, non?" He answered.

            "Yeah… I need more of a challenge." She said.

            "Now do me, what's my type?" Remy asked excitedly, his brown eyes widened as he contorted in his seat.

            "Well… let's see…" She eyed him carefully. His new eyes made him look like a totally different person. He lost about half of his mystery with his more natural, innocent eyes. "You need a girl who plays hard to get, sweeps you off your feet as much as you do her. You need a challenge to make her stand out against all the rest, someone who's going to draw more out of you than a night. You need a bird that'll take no less from you than your heart." Remy nodded his head in agreement. He wasn't shocked by anything she said, he just never realized some of it until she said it aloud.

            "Do Rogue now!" Kitty said excitedly. 

            "This oughtta be interestin'" Remy smiled.

            "Rogue is easy." Betsy boasted. "She needs some bloke who's not gonna drop at the first or second sign of trouble… she'd feel betrayed if they did. No, she needs some crazy fool who's persistent enough to break through some of her imaginary and emotional barriers, but adores you so much that he gives you enough self confidence to knock the rest down yourself." The car finally stopped in the parking lot of the mall.

            "What're your credentials anyway, Betsy?" Rogue was offended at how easy she was to read when she prided herself on being an enigma.

            "Psylocke is a premiere pre-cog." Remy answered for her as they all let themselves out of the car.

            "_Used to be," Betsy responded, "And I was hardly premiere."_

            "You still retain some a that power, p'tite, n'est-ce pas?" 

            "Well, sometimes I get a flash, but very rarely. Not like your friend Destiny." She addressed Rogue.

            "Destiny?" The name sounded familiar to Rogue, but she wasn't sure if it resonated with her memories or someone else's.

            "Adler, I think, right Remy? Irene, Irene Adler." 

            "How d'y'all know about Irene?" Rogue was worried the bad guys knew about the only mother she'd ever known.

            "We've done reconnaissance on all of you, for Sinister. He keeps detailed records on everything pertaining to mutants ever since the first signs we even existed. It's how we knew about all of you." Kitty and Rogue felt rather violated. Remy's empathy picked p on it and he felt ashamed as they crossed the parking lot. Reading the thoughts they all projected annoyed Betsy. "Well I'm not sorry about any of it. What I did was against my will, and what I learned by spying on you all gave me hope, a reason to fight, to reason to get out of there. You guys showed me that not everyone who wanted to help me lookin' for something in return from me. You showed me there was good in the world when I honestly didn't know if there was any." Kitty smiled at her.

            "Well I was happy to help." She said. 


	11. Chapter 11

This chapter has no X-Men in it (tear) but I love this chapter. It's so sad, but has lots of character development and drama in it. I'm really good at drama, I think, not to blow my own horn or anything. Next chapter will definitely have Romy in it (because that's my favorite thing to read, I love Gambit! He is the coolest!) and the next chapter after that will be AWESOME! You have no idea what's in store, I promise (I already have them written, I just have to find time to type 'em up). Thanks so much for reading and reviewing; it means so much to me!           

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            Pietro sat in the arm chair of the destitute Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House. He was flipping through the TV channels, watching four shows all at one, and bored by every one of them.

            "Slow down, yo. That looked pretty interesting."

            "Can't you be solving our housefly problem, Toad?" Pietro snapped back. Wanda, sitting on a small end table beside Pietro's chair, and behind Toad, sitting on the floor, just rolled her eyes. Just then, the door bell rang. No one moved to answer it. Pietro continued to furiously flip through the channels. Then the doorbell rang again. "Someone get the door!" Pietro yelled. No one responded. "Toad, make yourself useful and get the door." Whoever wanted in the landfill the Brotherhood called home began repeatedly ringing the bell, and knocking on the door. 

            "Why don't you get up off your lazy butt and get it yourself, _little brother?… Leave Toad alone." Wanda chided Pietro. Toad smiled at Wanda._

            "Love you too, baby cakes." Wanda gagged at him as Lance rushed down stairs.

            "I'll get it." Lance announced, grumbling.

`           "What do you mean _little_ brother?" Pietro ignored the noise coming from the door, and Lance's acquiescence to get it. "I was born, like, ten minutes after you."

            "Yeah… what took you so long?" Wanda mocked the super speed demon. He grumbled being personally offended when anyone called him slow.

            "Yeah… Whadda you wa--" Lance started as he opened the door. He interrupted himself when he saw who it was. "You!" He said, narrowing his eyes, "What are _you_ doing here?"

            "I'm movin' in." Pyro said as a goofy grin once again crept across his face.

            "Who is it Lan— Pyro!" Pietro yelled. Toad jumped up behind him, and Wanda came to the door too.

            "Whoa… y'all got a sheila too?" Pyro said when he saw Wanda. "An' she's a looker at that." He eyed her carefully up and down. Wanda was offended that he would do anything less than fear her.

            "What do you think is the probability that your ridiculous orange hair will suddenly catch fire?" She said to him through gritted teeth. 

            "Do I get a lifeline?" He tired to joke with her.

            "No." She wouldn't play along.

            "Uh… okay… I'd say it's not bloody likely then." He responded.

            "Wrong." Wanda said as she began to wave her arms in the air. Pietro quickly grabbed her.

            "Uh, Wanda, why don't we just see why he's here, first?" Pietro was still scared of his sister's power.

            "Like I said," Pyro started. "I've got orders from the big man to move in here."

            "Why would my father send you here? I thought he wanted you there?" Pietro asked.

            "Gambit, Colossus and Psylocke declared mutiny, so he sent me here while he figured things out."

            "Who's Psylocke?" Lance asked.

            "She was a new recruit, double agent, took 'em to the X-Men." Pyro answered. The four just stared at him. "Can I come in?" He finally asked. An aisle parted between them and he stepped in just as the Blob came down the stairs. 

            "What's _he_ doin' here?" Blob asked.

            "Toad, you speak idiot, explain it to him." Pietro ordered. Wanda smacked him on the back of the head.

            "Lay off!" She shouted.

            "I guess you're stayin' in my room." Lance said as he started walking up the stairs. "Follow me." 

            "Bonzer! It'll be slumber parties like old times!" Lance stopped dead at the top of the stairs and looked over his shoulder down at Pyro. The others had gone back to whatever it was they had been doing when they were so rudely interrupted. "I just hope you don't still wet the bed, mate." Pyro tried joking again, but Lance couldn't understand where he was coming from.

            "Who are you?" Lance asked when he couldn't figure out what Pyro was talking about. He finally realized he was supposed to know Pyro, but he didn't know how.

            "I figured you didn't recognize me. I didn't recognize you till I saw your real name in the file. Been a long time." Pyro danced his way to the top of stairs around Lance, still stunned by him.

            "John…?" He finally pulled a name out of the recesses of his memory. Pyro smiled and nodded, encouraging him on. "John Aller…dyce?" Pyro then beamed with pride.

            "Just Pyro now though." Lance smiled as he continued down the hallway. His best friend had just reappeared, as if he'd come back from the dead.

*          *          *

            Peter stood close by Xavier as they entered the compound on Muir Island. He said little so he would be certain there was no possibility of offending the generous man.

            "So Peter, what is the exact nature of your powers?" Xavier said, breaking the awkward, looming silence.

            "My body, my flesh, my organs… it all becomes some kind of metal, nearly impervious." He said. "My eyes can withstand a .45 caliber bullet. And of course my strength increases more than I can calculate."

            "So you're basically invincible?" Xavier concluded. Peter looked at the floor and shook his head.

            "No, sir. I can sustain damage, but rather than bleeding, I lose energy from certain spots on my body, as long as I remain in armored form."

            "Interesting." Xavier said as he stroked his chin. "You know, Peter, it's alright if you call me 'Charles', the students aren't allowed to but--"

            "I wouldn't feel comfortable, sir."  Peter interrupted. The professor said nothing in a silent understanding. They were finally met by a woman with shoulder length red hair. She wore a yellow sweater under her white lab coat. She quickly bent down to give Xavier a hug.

            "Oh Charles, it's so good to see ye again." The woman said with a thick Scottish accent.

            "You too Moira, it's been much too long." Xavier replied.

            "And you must be Peter." She said, addressing the big, complacent man at Charles's side as she extended a hand. He merely nodded as he shook it gently. "I'm so sorry I didn't know about Illyana's situation. I had no idea Magnus brought her here under duress. I would've called ye, Charles, but she never said a word about it." Peter nodded again. "She's just been a ray o' sunshine though. She comforts the older patients like a daughter. And she just adores her big brother."

            "That's Illyana." Peter said, Moira hearing his voice for the first time.

            "Older patients?" The professor asked. "There are more with this disease?" Moira nodded.

            "It's a virus. It's been spreadin' like wild fire all over the world. It's highly contagious, but only to mutants. I have to ask you both to wear these." She opened a door in the wall of the complex. It was a closet filled with haz mat type body suits. Peter quickly changed into his armored form. "Or ye could just wear that." Moira was stunned by his transformation. She raised a fist. "May I?" She asked Peter. He nodded. She knocked her fist against his metal chest. The sound intrigued her. "Fascinatin'" She said.

            "Perhaps you could have a look at it some other time, Moira?" The professor interjected on Peter's behalf. He could sense the man's eagerness to see his sister, but his reluctance to speak up.

            "Oh right." She said. "But I'm still going to have to ask you to wear this." She held up a small surgical mask.

            "I do not breathe." He said, waving it away. 

            "Wow." He eyes got wide, but finally one of Dr. MacTaggart's assistants met them in the corridor. "Oh, would you take Peter here to see his sister Illyana?" The assistant nodded and walked off, Peter following behind. Moira and the professor continued down the hallway. "I didn't want to mention this in front of Peter, Charles, but I'm really worried about this virus." Her voice filled with fear and concern.

            "What exactly does this virus do?" Charles asked.

            "It all started when one of my patients died; it became airborne, and ravenous. It causes mutant's powers to flare out of control. When Magneto brought the girl in, she was teleportin' herself an' others far, far away, and even into some strange dimension, and didn't know how ta get back. Now she's got a terrible rash. No one's recovered from it, and I don't know how ta stop it."

*          *          *  

            "Miss Rasputin, you have a visitor." The assistant said as he nudged his head in the door. Illyana sat on the bed, flipping through the television channels on the TV attached to the ceiling on the opposite side of the room. Her big blue eyes were drawn to the door as the medical assistant stepped out of the room. She watched in silence as a thick, steel hand poked through the crack in the door. Her eyes lit up as the fingers wiggled in a wave.

            "Piotr!" She shouted. He slipped in the room and shut the door. She jumped from her bed and ran into his waiting arms. After she released herself from his loving, protective grasp, she looked up at his eyes. "That kind of hurt." She rubbed her head which she had banged into his chest in her excitement.

            "I've missed you, Yana." Peter said. "How do you feel?" Her eyes turned a sad blue as she fingered her reflection in the metal of his bent knee. 

            "I feel alright, I guess." She mumbled as he stroked her golden hair.

            "What do you mean 'I guess'? Who is hurting you? I will kill them." He stood up as if he were going to leave the room on a mission.

            "Piotr!" She giggled and clawed at his neck for him to bend back down to her level. "I mean that I feel fine, but I have a terrible rash." She pulled down the collar of her hospital gown to reveal the skin deformity on her chest, snaking its way up her neck.  Peter grew very concerned. "It doesn't hurt, or itch… it just is. And I keep teleporting to I don't know where, and it takes a great deal of concentration to get back." They paused solemnly. Peter could not even attempt to understand how she felt.

            "I have left Magneto." He said, breaking the sad silence. Her eyes lit up sky blue again. "I have joined the X-Men."

            "The X-Men?" Illyana was unfamiliar.

            "They do good things, Yanna. They want to help people. They have brought me here, to you." She smiled with pride at Peter.

            "Then I will hurry up and get better to come home with you, my big brother, the X-Man who does good things."

*          *          *

            The professor and Dr. MacTaggart had been sitting in her office, filled with sun light from the large ocean view window, talking about how to address the rise of this new virus.

            "No doubt, Moira, we must keep the media out of this."

            "Aye, Charles." She agreed from the other side of her large white desk. "If this get's out it'll only perpetuate the anti-mutant hysteria. Humans'll blame ye fer bien' diseased." She shook her head in disgust.

            "I'll have Hank come up here as soon as possible." She nodded as she took a sip of her tea.

            "He'd be a wonderful help. My team and I, we've had no luck on a cure yet, but I think we can find one. I'm just afraid how many more will die b'fore we do."

            "We must tell Peter about his sister." Moira put her hand on her mouth and looked out the window.

            "She's only seven years old, Charles." She looked back at him. "Seven year olds aren't even supposed to be mutants yet, let alone die because of it." Xavier stared at her for a moment as she collected her thoughts and built up the emotional strength to get up from her desk. The two walked out together, Charels at her side in his wheel chair. They walked down the hall silently. 

            "I'll leave you two alone." Charles said as he stopped half way to Illyana's room. She nodded and kept walking. She stopped at the door and raised her hand to knock. She looked back at Charles for moral support, and he disappeared into another office. Moira knocked on the door and didn't wait for an answer before opening the it and walking in. She saw Peter and Illyana, locked in a hug. Then Illyana looked up at her with her giant blue eyes.

            "Dr. MacTaggart!" She shouted, always happy to see anybody. Peter turned to see Moira standing in the door way. "Dr. MacTaggart, this is my brother, Piotr!" Peter stood up.

            "Yes, Illyana, we met earlier. I was tryin' to tell him how ye were doin' an' he nearly knock me over, he was so excited to be seein' ye." Peter stood stoic once again, as he almost always was, except in Illyana's presence. Illyana could sense the pain in Moira's voice, even as she tried to be encouraging. "Illyana, I've got to talk to Peter for a moment, is it alright if I take him from ye?"

            "Only if you promise that you will bring him back." Illyana smiled, subconsciously trying to lighten the somber tone in the air of the room.

            "I will return shortly, sister." Peter responded as he followed Moira out of the room. He shut the door behind himself and quickly reverted back to his flesh form. 

            "Why don't we take a seat, Peter?" Moira gestured to the bench that was cut into the wall of the corridor. She didn't want to take him in to her office, it was too big and impersonal. Here they would be closer to each other, and they could really talk, everyone knew not to interrupt them. Peter sat down and he watched as Moira did too. "Peter…" She began, "I'm afraid I wasn't upfront about your sister's condition." He remained emotionless as he listened carefully. "This virus it… Peter… there's no cure for it." He looked perplexed. He appeared to be feeling all emotions all at once and struggled for one to grasp on to. This, he decided, was obviously not a good thing, but he didn't know of its consequence. "Illyana isn't goin' t'get any better until we find one." She finally said, calmly.

            "Does she not know about this?" Peter asked. She said she would get better, but she could have simply been trying to protect him, it was in her nature to want everyone to be smiling all the time.

            "Well, she's seen patients come and go, and she knows she hasn't been getting' any better, so I suppose that deep down she knows. But she would never let herself be seen with anythin' less than a smile." 

            "Where do they go?" Peter interrupted. She was confused, having rushed through what she said so she wouldn't have to dwell on sadness for too long.

            "Beg yer pardon?" she asked.

            "You said there was no cure, yet the patients, they come _and go?" He asked honestly. Tears welled up in her eyes. She took his big warm hand into her small, clammy, calloused biologist's hands. She had never expected to be so emotional. She never planed on being an actual doctor; she wanted to be a scientist. She wanted to make the medicines that made people better without having to see them die before she did. When she met Charles Xavier, though, he changed her. When she met him, she knew no one would take care of mutants, not the way she could. And because of it, she suffers so much, watching the people she cares for live and die while the world would rather not look at all._

            "Peter…" She sniffed back tears. "The survival rate of the Legacy Virus is, until we find a cure, zero percent." She tried hard not to look into his eyes, but decided she had to be there for him. She was surprised to see nothing. Before, he had been sorting through all emotions all at once. Now there was nothing. Emptiness filled the innocent man's face. Moira could feel his hand turn to ice in her own. He looked at her as his eyes turned to steel. "Peter? Are ye alright?" He stood up and walked down the long hall way. At first, Moira just watched him until she realized he could very easily hurt someone. Xavier heard Peter clunking down the corridor like a one man army. He motioned for Moira to let him go, knowing he wouldn't harm anyone.

            When he got outside, it was cloudy. The salty island air made him cold and sticky. As the cloud that had temporarily blocked the warmth of the sun moved across the sky, the heat beat down on Peter. He armored his arm and punched it coldly into the brick wall of the Muir Island Research Center. The brick crumbled to the ground at his ankles. He kept hitting the wall until he had vented his rage for the moment. He heaved as he fought to regain control of his emotions. He became human once again as he sat on the ground with his head in his hands.

            "Peter?" He heard a calming, familiar voice. He looked up to see the professor sitting in his wheel chair in front of him. "Perhaps you should go be with your sister. She needs to be with someone she loves."

            "Yana needs to be with someone who is strong." He said. "I may be able to knock down walls and buildings, but she has been the strongest person I know. This disease will claim her life… I know she knows this, and still she smiles. I fall to pieces… I cause destruction." He said. He looked down at his hands.

            "Then let her be there for you." Xavier said as he put a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter couldn't understand why this man cared so much or how he knew exactly what to say. "Peter, I can promise you that we will find a cure. We will stop this virus. I can not promise you when, but I do know this will stop." 


	12. Chapter 12

Okie Dokie, Lots of Romy in this one, YAY!!! Next chapter'll be great, great, great!! As always, thanks so much for all of your wonderful and encouraging reviews. I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter despite it's sadness, it really means a lot to me. I will update soon, maybe before the weekend. Keep reading and reviewing!! 

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            The three girls and Remy weaved their way through the clothing racks of the department store. Kitty fished through the immense amount of clothes, plucking out tops and skirts and pants and handing them to Betsy.

            "Oh man, this color would look great with your hair." Kitty said as she pulled out a white peasant blouse with purple flowers the same color as Betsy's hair on it. She put it at the top of the mound of clothes Betsy held in her arms, which reached much higher than head. Remy and Rogue followed them through the store, taking an occasional glance at something on a rack here or there, but they mostly just laughed at Kitty and Betsy.

            "Ugggh… I think my arms are going to fall off." Betsy mumbled.

            "What?" Kitty said, not being able to hear Betsy behind the clothes heap.

            "I mean… these are all nice, Kitty, but they're not really my style."

            "Oh." Kitty sighed. She was having fun playing dress up with very own 'ethnic-oriental' Barbie. "Well, what were you thinking?"

            "I dunno for sure, but can we put these back?" She had to fight a random garment for room to breath.

            "Okay, come with me." Kitty said. All three followed. She led them into the dressing room where she instructed Betsy to drop the clothes. She did so willingly and furiously tried to rub the feeling back in arms. "The people who work here will put them back."

            "Well that hardly seems fair." Betsy said as she measured the height of the pile by sight, but then followed Kitty, Remy and Rogue out of the dressing room. "Rogue and I are going clothes shopping. Kitty, you can play dress-up with Gambit." Betsy grabbed Rogue's hand. Rogue had no time to respond as Betsy dragged her out of the store. Remy stared in confusion as the two dashed away. Then he looked over at Kitty. She was eyeing him carefully.

            "What size are you? 31? 32?" She asked.

            "Uh… 31" he answered apprehensively.

            "Well, if you can't have Barbie, might as well play with Ken." She grabbed his hand to drag him to the men's department. He looked back to see if he could call Rogue or Betsy for help, but they were both gone by now, so he decided to play along.

            "Remy diff'rent from Ken in one very big, important way…"

            "Yeah," Kitty replied with out looking back at him. "Ken can keep his mouth shut!" she made him smile.

*          *          *

            Betsy was still holding Rogue's hand as they made their way out of the clothes towards the entrance to the mall. Rogue finally managed to pull her hand away.

            "Why do you wanna go shoppin' with me?" Rogue asked as she slowed Betsy down.

            "Because you've got style, I must say." Rogue was shocked

            "Nobody lahks the way Ah dress." She replied.

            "Not true, I like it. I mean, it's a bit much for me, but I'm much more delicate than you. It definitely works for you, sort of."

            "Sorta?" Rogue was growing offended. 

            "Well, I can understand why you'd want to keep away the average acquaintance, but when it starts fending off the people you should become close with, it's a problem."

            "Y'all know what happens when Ah get close with anybody…" Rogue referred to her powers.

            "Yeah, it reminds you that you can't physically be close with them and it makes you hate them and push you away. In a sense, you screw yourself out of anything good that could ever happen to you." Betsy knew what she was talking about, but went deeper than Rogue liked to think about.

            "You don't understand." Rogue folded her arms.

            "Yes I do… That's why you're mad at me!" Betsy sang.

            "Alright, Dr. Elisabeth, how're you plannin' on fixin' me?" Rogue barked. People were always quick to judge, but they proposed a solution.

            "Baby steps, my dear. First thing you can do is start by uncrossing your arms. Folding up like that is a subconscious repellant… and gimme a smile." Rogue straightened her arms at her sides, but refused to smile. "Man, Ororo gave me all this money, I couldn't possibly spend it all on myself… but if I must, I must." Rogue smiled and grabbed her arm.

            "C'mon, we're goin' shoppin' f'r make up."

*          *          *

            Remy stood in the dressing room. At first it was fun having Kitty stare at his body while he modeled the clothes she'd picked out for him, but it was getting kind of boring. She was actually interested in how he looked in the clothes, not how he looked under them. He started putting on one of the black pairs of pants and black shirts, along with a new trench coat. Kitty knocked on the door.

            "Okay, let me see 'em now." She shouted.

            "Remy don' know 'bout dis batch, p'tite." He lied.

            "Oh c'mon! Just let me see 'em!" She shouted back.

            "Mebbe you jus' go find me some more?" He said, lacing up a new pair of black boots.

            "Alright." Kitty groaned. He heard her bump into a mannequin as she walked away. It made him smile. He ripped the tags off his clothes, and put on his sunglasses from earlier. He flipped up the collar of his coat since he didn't have the trade marked face piece from his uniform. He slipped on his fingerless gloves, and he was ready for business. He stepped up on the bench in the dressing room and put his hands on the top of the flimsy makeshift walls. He hoisted himself on top of the wall, and stayed crouched until he could gain his balance. The man in the dressing room next Remy's noticed him.

            "Hey? What are you doing?" the man shouted. Gambit hadn't noticed him before, and he glanced down to see where the shout had come from, only to catch a glimpse of the man in his underwear.

            "Hey!" The man shouted again, trying to cover up. Gambit looked away quickly.

            "Lissen homme, you might wanna have a doctor check dat out!" He yelled back as he stood up, hoping the wall would support his weight. Gambit was too tall as he had to bend down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling of the store. He put his hands up on the ceiling to level his balance as he walked across the top of the wall. The next row of dressing rooms, sharing one long wall with the men's, were the women's. One of the dressing room occupants looked up to see Gambit. He didn't notice her as he was he was focused on the thin balance bean he was forced to walk.

            "Security!!!" She screamed bloody murder. He walked much quicker now, and jumped off the wall back into the store, landing with the grace of a master thief. Three rent-a-cops were approaching him from the left. Gambit smiled at them and took off running to the right. He made the next left, then ducked into a rack of women's underwear as the security guards kept going straight. He rolled his eyes at the ease of his exploits. He stood up and adjusted his coat, realizing where he was. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then picked up a pair of panties. He felt the material and was struck with an idea.

            "Can I help you?" He heard a bitter sales woman ask from behind him. He smiled his irresistible cocky smile as he turned around.

            "Oui mad'moiselle. Do you have dis in green?" He showed her the garment and flashed his pearly whites.

            "Yes, but I don't think this is your size." She said, shattering Remy's pride. But he didn't give up, he never gave up, not with a woman.

            "Size don' matter, chère. I jus want the material, can't hardly feel it."

            "Whatever floats your boat." She said as she picked up a few pairs and walked to the cash register. He followed behind, then stayed in front of the counter as she slipped around to the other side.

            "You get an employee discount?" He asked as sweetly as possible.

            "Yes…" she said suspiciously as she rang up the underwear.

            "How much?" He asked.

            "Why?"

            "Jus' curious 'bout yo' job, chère." He said, sounding utterly sincere.

            "Are you trying to hit on me to use my employee discount to purchase women's underwear either for you, or someone else?" She said indignantly, putting the garment down. Remy pulled off his sunglasses and looked her directly in the eye. 

            "Course not, mad'moiselle. Jus' tryin' to make conversation." She was immediately struck by his deep brown eyes. She couldn't look away as she felt her will power and self control drip out her ear. 

            "Oh." She said, mesmerized.

            "What time you getting' of this evenin'?" The sound of his voice was hypnotic.

            "Five o'clock…" She said, captured in his charm.

            "You hear from Remy by then." He said. He slowly looked down to the underwear on the counter.

            "Oh… will this be cash or credit?" She whispered, exasperated.

            "Ca dépend… how much?" He looked back up at her and tilted his head.

            "Uh… $44.63 minus 20% employee discount… 35.70." She said. Remy smiled at her and handed her the cash. When the exchange had been made, he picked up her hand and kissed it gently. Remy could feel it as her heart skipped a beat.

            "Merci for all yo' help, mad'moiselle." He slipped his sunglasses back on as he turned to walk away.

            "Uh… bye…" She said quietly as she watched him disappear into the store.

*          *          *

            "Here we go." Rogue said as she approached the make up counter of her choice, Betsy following behind. Rogue was looking at all the different shades of lip stick while Betsy admired the eye shadows. 

            "Wow, this color would look really good on you!" Betsy said as she showed Rogue the sheer red color. Rogue shook her head.

            "Nah, too light."

            "Oh c'mon! Just let me see!" Rogue sighed and took some of the makeup remover hidden behind the display to wipe off her dark purple make up. She then shut her eyes and turned to Betsy. Betsy rubbed the applicator in the eye shadow went to put it on Rogue's lid. With the first touch, she jumped back.

            "Maybe Ah ougtta just put it on." Rogue said with her eyes still shut.

            "I won't touch you." Betsy assured her. "And if I do, then when I wake up, which I will, I'll come into your head myself and kick my own ass out your ear canal." Rogue couldn't help but smile, picturing the image in her head. She sat up straighter and apprehensively leaned a little forward. Betsy began to carefully apply the make up. When she was finished, Rogue opened her eyes. Betsy's jaw dropped open, and her eyes went wide.

            "What?" Rogue asked worried when Betsy didn't say anything. She grabbed a mirror. "What it is?"

            "It's you." Betsy finally said as she smiled. "At first I thought it was Jean, but that wasn't right… because it's you. It makes so much sense." She said, she'd realized she'd seen Rogue's eyes before.

            "What's me? What makes sense?" Rogue asked, worried. Betsy smiled and shook her head.

            "It's nothing." Betsy sighed, snapping back into reality and out of her thoughts. "You just have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." Rogue blushed.

            "Oh… uh, thanks." She smiled.

*          *          *

            Kitty and Remy were sitting the middle of the food court, waiting for Rogue and Betsy to get back from shopping. Kitty was messing with a french fry, using it to draw pictures with ketchup on her paper plate. Remy watched her as he slurped a soda.

            "What's on yo' mind, p'tite?" He asked her, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

            "It's nothing." She said. She drew smiley faces even though she was rather sad.

            "Remy's an empath. He know better then that." She looked up at him.

            "You wouldn't understand."

            "You'd be surprised, Kate."

            "Kate? Everyone calls me Kitty, why do you call me Kate?"

            "Cause y'all havin' trouble trustin' the Acolyte. Givin ya my own special name makes it more personal. And your name is Katherine, right?" She nodded. "So if ya don' mind, Remy's gon' call the kitty-kat, Kate."

            "Whatever." She shrugged her shoulders.

            "An' like I said, Remy's an empath. If I could feel your burden, then yo' overwhelmin' sense of relief is surely ringin' in my ears." She looked back up at him. She thought she had changed the subject.

            "You're a jerk, you know that?"

            "You have no idea, Kate. Now spill it." She sighed, defeated.

            "I think my parents are splitting up." She said. Remy leaned back in his chair, absorbing what she said.

            "Oh chère, Remy's sorry. I thought--"

            "Thought that I was being over dramatic about something stupid and pointless? You know, they all think I have only stupid problems." She grew bitter. "Nobody ever thinks I have more than two ounces of brains just because I say 'like' like, way too much." She started playing with her french fry again, having vented her frustration. 

            "You unload on Remy anytime, Kate. I'm real good f'r that. An' I'm definitely the first to admit that I'm stupid an' shallow. I'll work on it f'r ya." Kitty smiled at him.

            "Whoever your type is…" She started, " she totally isn't good enough for you." Remy smiled back at the compliment, but he didn't believe a word she said. "But it's not even the fact that they're splitting up that bums me out really." She went back to staring at her plate. Remy sat up again, attentive. "I think it's mostly that so much is changing back home, and I'm missing all of it."

            "That's part a life, p'tite. Only one who can avoid that is Jamie Multiple." She smiled at him, but it didn't really make her feel any better. "Ya homesick, Kate, not f'r home so much, but the home ya left behind. Y'ougta jus' be happy ya don' have ta jus' sit around an' wait for change to happen." That actually did make her feel a little better.

            "There you two are!" Betsy shouted as she and Rogue approached their table. Betsy smiled at Remy, wickedly. She knew something he didn't, sort of.

            "Oooooh, let me see what you got?" Remy's eyebrows perked up at Kitty's complete personality swing, but he didn't say anything. "Oh no!" Kitty shouted, peeking into one of the many shopping bags Betsy and Rogue came back with. "There's so much black!" She reeled.

            "Well," Betsy said, standing up to model her new clothes. She now wore a tight dark purple top, slightly redder than her hair, with purple and black stripes down the long sleeves, with her thumbs in pre-cut holes. She also wore a loose fitting pair of black cargo pants, showing off her toned midriff, along with black boots. Her hair was pulled back in a lazy bun, held by chop sticks courtesy of the Chinese food restaurant in the food court. "It works for me, doesn't it?" Rogue smiled as she watched Kitty in agony.

            "Oh, no! There's two of them!" Kitty bellowed, referring to the similarities between Rogue's clothes and Betsy's. Remy smiled as well, then leaned over to Rogue.

            "There could never be two of you." He whispered in her ear. Rogue just looked at him angrily for spoiling her fun, watching Kitty's histrionics, by saying something halfway serious. Betsy noticed and grabbed Kitty's hand.

            "C'mon, I need some new skivvies." Betsy dragged Kitty to the nearest lingerie store to leave Remy and Rogue alone. Rogue waited for them to be out of sight before she spoke.

            "So what were you and Kitty talking about? It looked pretty heavy." Remy thought for a second, then nodded. "So what was it?" she asked again. Remy shrugged his shoulders.

            "If she wanted you t'know, she woulda tol' ya." The corners of Rogue's lips turned up at his loyalty, but they went back down before anything showed.

            "Ya got tight lips, Cajun." She said.

            "Actually chère, the politically correct term for a descent of the earliest known French settlers is _Acadian_." He spoke without his accent, trying to sound as much like a dictionary as possible. She just looked at him, unimpressed.

            "And the only correct term for me, that won't result in a dismemberment of one or more of your limbs, is 'Rogue', _Cajun_."

            "An' if ya really wanna see how tight my lips are…" She put her gloved hand over his pouty face and pushed him back.

            "Okay, swamp rat. Enough of this stupid flirtin', you're gettin' under mah skin."

            "Can't go over it, can't go around it, can't go through it, might as well get under it. One barrier down, only eleventy billion t'go." Rogue looked at her hands and sighed as she dropped them in her lap. Remy hit a nerve. "That's not what I meant, chère."

            "But it's the truth." She said. "Even when Ah do want more, Ah can't."

            "You sayin' you want more wit' Remy?" All of his flirtatious feelings melted away to show his avid interest in her.

            "No…" she said defensively. "Ah wouldn't do that to you."

            "But I could do it to myself?" He asked.

            "Why would you want to? You know what happens when Ah touch ya. You know it's not worth it." He rolled his eyes at her self deprecation.

            "When I look at you, I don' see dark, heavy make up, I don' see the black clothes, I don' see the poisonous skin. I see a little girl that huddles away from the world cause she been hurt one too many times. An' when I see a girl who's about ta cry, even if it's only on th'inside, I can't help but wanna make it stop, make her happy again." She spent a moment absorbing his words and the honesty behind them. Still looking at her hands, she watched as one of his slid over one of hers. She quickly shook him off and refolded her hands back in her lap.

            "What're you sayin', swamp rat? That Ah'm some sad, defenseless little girl that needs you ta save me?" She spat venomously.

            "Non." He was whispering in her ear. "Jus' that I'm gonna make it my life's mission to make you happy." She could feel his breath on her ear again, as he drew swirls and heart on her back with the tip of his finger.

            "You're fightin' a loosin' battle, LeBeau." She leaned back in the chair, away from Remy, forcing him to stop touching her. He still smiled at her.

            "Don' nobody know how much Gambit loves a challenge."

*          *          *

            Kitty and Betsy casually stood at the cash register as the cashier rang up Betsy's purchase.

            "I can't believe Rogue infected you with her Goth disease…" Kitty joked.

            "First of all, I'm not Goth, I'm British punk. And second of all, it's not a disease, it's just a personal style." She chided Kitty for insulting Rogue behind her back.

            "I know," Kitty admitted. "It's just that it's ruined Rogue's social life, and it's had, like, a domino effect on the rest of her life."

            "Rogue did that on her own… and I think it's about to change." Betsy once again developed a wicked smile, knowing Kitty would love to hear what she had to say. Her body got sort of giddy.

            "What?" Kitty asked, "Why?" Betsy's smiled grew as she pressed her lips together. "What do you know?" Kitty begged for information.

            "Well I can't tell you… but if you were to guess…" She trailed off enticing Kitty to guess.

            "Okay, it has to do with Rogue…" Kitty confirmed as Betsy nodded. "Does it have to do with Scott, or Logan?" Betsy shook her head and rolled her eyes. Kitty got real cold, real fast. Kitty looked around as the thought struck her. "Oh! Does it have to do with Remy?" Betsy's eyes got wider and her smile reappeared as her nods were big and obvious. "Does Rogue like Remy?" Kitty asked slyly, thinking she got the answer right.  Betsy just shrugged her shoulders.

            "I dunno, maybe… but keep guessing, you're sooooo close!" The two girls began walking out of the store and back into the mall, on the second floor. 

            "Okay…" Kitty thought for a second. "Does Remy like Rogue…?" Betsy's grin grew to reveal her teeth  as she nodded her head furiously. "You're kidding!" Kitty shouted. Betsy shook her head, still smiling. "Ohmigod! It makes so much sense!"

            "I know, doesn't it?" The two girls were so excited about their friends, they didn't notice the trickle of people in the mall that had begun running and screaming, until somebody bumped into them, knocking them on the floor. 

            "Hey, watch where you're going!" the girl shouted at Kitty and Betsy.

            "I do believe you're the run who ran into us." Betsy said.

            "Jubilee?" Kitty identified the girl.

            "Oh, sorry, Kitty." She said.

            "What's going on?" Kitty asked Jubilee referring to the trickle of people that had quickly grown into a flood. Suddenly, crashing foot steps could be heard, and much smaller explosions. Betsy leaned to one side to see around the corner. She could see Gambit furiously throwing playing cards at giant robot.

            "Oh god." Kitty said, as she saw it too. "It's a sentinel." 


	13. Chapter 13

YAY!!! Good chapter!! I haven't seen this happen on fanfiction.net yet, kinda weird. Anyhoo… the next chapter has to be the Romyiest chapter I've ever seen in my whole life. So look out for it soon. Review this chapter for me please!!!! Thanks for reading and all your great reviews!!!! Yay!! I love you all!

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            *

            "Okay…" Psylocke said, taking charge. "Rogue and I will try to clear people out." Kitty and Jubilee nodded. "You're Jubilation Lee, right?" She said, addressing the new girl.

            "Yeah, how'd you--" Jubilee started. Psylocke interrupted her. 

            "You and Gambit distract thing, get it close to the balcony, here." Psylocke pointed to the floor below them. "Shadowcat, when it gets close enough, you jump down and phase through it." She instructed. Jubilee and Shadowcat nodded. Psylocke ran off down the escalator, and jumped off halfway down. Shadowcat crouched below the wall that acted as a railing where people could look down to the floor below, so the sentinel wouldn't be alerted to her presence. Jubilee leaned over the wall and yelled.

            "Hey!" Gambit heard her shout behind and above him as he charged up and flung anything at the robot he could get his hands on. He looked at her as if she were crazy, then her hands lit up. "Hey, you mechanical piece of space trash!" She let the firecracker fly. The sentinel's attention was diverted to the girl. It moved closer in her direction, and fired laser beams at the fireworks.

            Rogue, standing behind the sentinel and out of its path, noticed a blonde woman standing behind Gambit. "Hey! Hey!" The woman shouted at the sentinel, trying to draw its attention from the young girl. Gambit didn't hear her as he continued to try and distract the robot as well. 

            "Hey, lady! Get out of the way!" Rogue hollered at the woman. When she didn't respond, Rogue took off running to try and push the woman out of harms way.

            "Rogue! Wait!" Psylocke shrieked from under the escalator. Rogue didn't hear her as she leapt at the woman, pushing her out of the sentinel's path.

            "Get offa me!" The woman cried. She tried pushing Rogue off of her, but not knowing about her powers, she pushed at Rogue's face. Rogue began to absorb the woman. She couldn't do anything unless the woman let go, and the woman couldn't, until she fell unconscious.

            "Rogue!" Psylocke yelled as she bent down at the woman's side. "Rogue, are you alright?" 

            "Ah, Ah dunno. Ah feel weird… she held on for so long." Rogue said. Psylocke almost couldn't hear her over the cries and screams of the people in the mall, but she augmented Rogue's thoughts to hear her. They both looked down at the blonde woman, Psylocke recognized her from Sinister's files.

            "Oh my god, it's Carol Danvers." She mumbled to herself.

            "Who?" Rogue asked. She didn't know if she hadn't heard Psylocke or just didn't know the name.

            "Rogue, fly up and grab Shadowcat and drop her into the sentinel before it nukes us with any of that green paralyzing goo!" Psylocke took charge again.

            "Fly?!" Rogue screamed, confused. Psylocke looked down at Carol as she drug her away.

            "While you still can! Go!" Psylocke directed her. Rogue didn't know what she was doing, but she willed herself to fly, and she did. Gambit, Jubilee and Shadowcat watched in amazement. Rogue hovered above Shadowcat as she attempted to gain her bearings with this foreign power. Rogue reached down and grabbed Shadowcat's hand, hoisting her into the air. The sentinel attempted to lock onto their signals to fire missiles at them, but Gambit resumed throwing explosive plastic silverware at it, drawing its full attention. Rogue dropped Shadowcat into the sentinel's head. As she phased through it, the sentinel began shorting out, it fell backward. Someone with a video camera was filming the events as close as possible. Despite the fact a giant robot was about to fall on him, he didn't move. Out of instinct, Rogue flew down to push him out of the way. Unfortunately, the sentinel was falling too quickly, and all Rogue could do was try to protect the boy with her body. Much to her surprise, the sentinel broke apart around her as it hit Rogue's body. They were safe. Shadow cat emerged out the tipping foot of the robot, and landed on her butt. 

            "Whoa…" She said, rubbing her head. "kinda dizzy…" Gambit came to her aid.

            "You alright, Kate?" He asked her. She looked up at him as if she were about to throw up.

            "No… I think it was too much… too big." She bellowed. 

            "Don' you worry none, p'tite." Gambit said as he picked her up, over the threshold style. 

            "Rogue, get Jubilee, help me with Carol and let's get out of here!" Psylocke shouted from in front of the mall entrance. Rogue did as she was instructed, and they ran to the car. They were able to disappear before the police could stop them.

*          *          *

            "Oh… mah head." Rogue groaned from the passenger seat.

            "I'd kiss it an' make it better, chère, but I'm drivin'." Remy said as he glanced at her.

            "Ugh… _your_ head…" Kitty competed.

            "So that was a sentinel?" Betsy asked.

            "Oui." Remy answered.

            "Wow! We took down a sentinel!" Jubilee shouted with glee.

            "What're you doin' back in Bayville, anyhow?" Rogue asked her, trying hard not to look at Carol, laid over the three girls' laps in the backseat as she contorted to address Jubilee.

            "When people back in L.A. found out I was a mutant, they started attacking us… throwing bricks through our windows and stuff. So I bolted. I figured if I wasn't there, they wouldn't hurt my foster parents. I hitched my way here, but I've been too nervous to go back the institute."  Nobody pressed any further, as they were all too well acquainted with her plight. "So who are you and why is the Acolyte here?" She asked Betsy, demandingly.

            "Bollocks… it's a long story. We'll explain it to you when we get back home."

*          *          *

            Betsy watched as Hank situated Carol in the bed in the Med Lab. In the bed on her other side, Remy sat talking to Rogue. Kitty was asleep on the bed next to her.

            "So what do you know about Ms. Danvers?" Hank asked Betsy.

            "Umm… not much. Her codename with the Avengers is Ms. Marvel." Hank nodded as he wrote down what she said. "Her powers include…" She had to think hard to recall Sinister's file. "Uh, flight, the ability to fly in space unprotected, super strength, invulnerability, and… uh… oh there's one more… Oh! A 7th sense." She listed, proud of her memory.

            "7th sense?" Hank asked.

            "Yes, she can sense danger before it happens." Hank nodded and walked away. 

            "She's yelling at me, Remy. She keeps sayin' Ah ruined her life… why won't she go away?" Rogue was furiously wringing her hands. She subconsciously started hitting the back of her head against the pillow on the bed, turned upward slightly so she could sit up. 

            "It's alright, Roguey… shut her out, jus' listen to me." He took her hand, trying to comfort her. 

            "She's so loud. Louder than the others." 

            "Can you do somethin'?" Remy asked Betsy. She was shocked to have been brought into the conversation.

            "Oh, I don't know. Maybe something temporary, just until the professor gets back." She said. Remy nodded. He got up from the bed and stood by Rogue's side, still holding her hand. Betsy took his place sitting closely in front of her. "Okay, Rogue, relax." Rogue looked up at Remy.

            "It's okay, she knows what she's doin'." He encouraged her. She looked back at Betsy then shut her eyes and leaned back in the hospital bed.

            Psylocke closed her eyes as well and put her hands on Rogue's head, making sure her auburn and white hair acted as a thin layer of protection. Psylocke focused hard and once again a butterfly separated itself from her. It flew into Rogue's head, between her eyes.

(A/N: The following takes place in Rogue's head until it says otherwise.)

            The butterfly was startled to find a vast empty space. There seemed to be no end. Psylocke decided she had to do something, so she flew straight ahead. She managed to pick up a good amount of speed, then she heard a voice.

            "Where do you think _you're_ going?" She stopped moving and looked around. When she didn't see anything, she kept going.

            "Stop laughin' at me!"

            "Shut up!" Psylocke heard the first voice yelling at the Blob. She stopped again, and once again saw nothing. She started flying again.

            "Alex, hold my hand!" a young Scott screamed.

            "I said SHUT UP!" The first voice yelled again. Psylocke stopped to look around again, but took her time. She apprehensively began to fly off, when there was a woman standing in front of her.  "Where do you think you're going?" It was Carol Danvers. Psylocke had to think for a second.

            "I was looking for you." She said meekly.

            "Well, you found me. Now what do you want?" Carol was angry.

            "Uh, well… I was hope that you would, y'know… knock it off." Psylocke mumbled. Carol began to laugh.

            "I don't think so."

            "Uh, please?" Psylocke was intimidated.

            "Uh, no" Carol repeated.

            "Why not?" Psylocke asked.

            "Why not? Why not?" Carol quickly grew livid. "That girl took my powers. She took my ability to fight for good. She took everything that's special about me. She took my life!"

            "So why are you trying to quiet all the voices, all the memories?" Carol smiled evilly.

            "An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. This body will be useless with all these voices yelling at me."

            "You're planning to take over Rogue's body?" Psylocke became fearful.

            "Yeah, so you need to go back where you came from." Carol instructed her.

            "I can't let you do that." Psylocke blurted out.

            "And just what are you going to do about it?" Carol reached for the butterfly, trying to squeeze it. Psylocke evaded Carol, and began flying back to where she came from. Carol took off flying after her. Psylocke flapped her wings as hard as possible, but at times it wasn't enough as she could feel Carol's hand slip around her. The fear gave her the mental energy boost to go faster, and she managed to slip out of her grasp. Psylocke finally reached the front of Rogue's mind. She flew out of Rogue's head and back into Betsy's, knocking her off of Rogue and back onto the bed. Carol followed her to the front of Rogue's mind and stayed there. When Rogue opened her eyes, they were blue. She was outraged and frantic. She sat up and tried to beat the bloody piss out of Betsy. "I'll show you!" She screamed at Betsy. Remy, still holding her hand, fought hard to hold her back from ripping Betsy to shreds. "Let go of me!" She shrieked.

            "Stripes?" Logan stood in the doorway of the Med Lab, intrigued by the commotion. The Beast ran out of his office to try and help subdue her.

            "Not Stripes, Carol." She yelled back at Logan.

            "Hold her back!" Betsy yelled at them. It took Remy, Hank and Logan to restrain Rogue/Carol with her super strength. Betsy was able to get up and straddle Rogue, holding her face just over Rogue's. She planted her hands on Rogue's face, this time not worrying about touching her bare skin. Nothing happened. 

            "Get offa me!" she yelled and thrashed. Betsy focused quickly and the butterfly flew from Betsy's head into Rogue's. The butterfly found herself once again inside the big black space, this time, Carol was waiting for her. Psylocke evaded her grasp again.

            "Let her go, Carol."

            "No!' She yelled.

            "Alright." Psylocke said. Then, out of no where, big, grey, pliable tentacles reached down and wrapped themselves around Carol. At first, Carol was suppressed, then she looked at Psylocke.

            "You're gonna have to do better than that." Carol used her super strength to bust through the now hardened encasement around her. Carol tried once again to grab at Psylocke, and once again, Psylocke got away. A big brick wall slid up between Psylocke and Carol.. Then five more walls slid up around Carol, trapping her inside.

            "You want better?" Psylocke taunted her as thick metal walls slid up around the brick walls, trapping Carol in an impenetrable box.

            In the physical world, Logan and Remy noticed Betsy's hands on Rogue and managed to pry them off as Rogue's body relaxed. Fortunately, nothing had happened. Betsy was focused on Rogue's mind and thus didn't notice or respond.

            The butterfly in Rogue's mind could hear Carol pounding on the inside of the box.

            "No, no. It's too small." Ororo cried out from the abyss.

            "Stop laughin' at me!"

            "Alex, hold my hand!"

            "Rogue, you are my daughter." The voices flooded Rogue's mind once again. Psylocke decided she had done all she could and left. As the butterfly re-entered Betsy's head, she opened her eyes. Logan, Hank and Remy all looked at her.

            "Did it work?" Logan asked her as she dismounted Rogue and the bed.

            "For now." Betsy looked over at Carol, lying on the next bed. Rogue's eyes blinked open and she was surprised to see the three biggest men she knew standing around her. Remy smiled slightly as he was relieved to see her beautiful green eyes again.

            "What happened?" Rogue asked. She had to lean forward to see Betsy staring down at Carol from around Remy and Logan.

            "There was a scuffle." Betsy said solemnly as she looked back at Rogue.

            "It's okay now, chère…" Remy said, Brushing white hair out her face as he sat back down in front of her. Logan narrowed his eyes at the boy, but said nothing as he comforted her.

*          *          *

            Betsy walked quietly into her bed room. Jean was sitting on her bed reading.

            "Uh, Betsy, I know you just got but this is unacceptable." Jean was referring to the messy half of the room that wasn't hers. Betsy's side was littered with the clothes and shopping bags she and Kitty had thrown in the car before they went to the lingerie store. The bed was unmade and Betsy was tired.

            "You're just going to have to accept it, Jean. I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow." Betsy said as she changed into her brand new PJs. Jean scowled at her. Betsy was gorgeous even in her dark purple tank top and black satin PJ bottoms. Betsy let her long purple hair down. It had already fallen on its own through out the course of the day, but it still fell gracefully. Jean got jealous.

            "I'm not going to be able to sleep with the room like this." Jean said.

            "Tough." Betsy replied

            "Look, if I don't sleep, you don't sleep." Jean stood up, face to face with Betsy.

            "Are you threatening me?" Betsy asked. Jean just shifted her balance, silently affirming Betsy's assumption. "You're not the Phoenix yet, I'm not afraid of you." She brushed Jean off, angering her even more.

            "What does that even mean?" Jean yelled at her.

            "You'll see." Betsy said as she picked up the covers of her bed off the floor, brushing Jean off again.

            "Oh, you think you're so high and mighty just because you _used to be a precog. Just because you come in here and in your first day, you barely break a sweat on one of Logan's sessions, you lead a team to defeat a sentinel, and you fix Rogue's messed up head doesn't mean you can come into _my_ room and leave it like __this!" Jean yelled at her again. Betsy stood face to face with her, showing her lack of intimidation._

            "My first day here, I've been subjected to a test after two and a half hours of sleep and three years of bloody fighting for my life. I went the mall to unwind and was attacked by a 30 foot robot, looking to my friends and I, then I get home and the closest thing I've had to a girl friend since I was ripped out of society and into captivity, is losing her mind, and thus tries to kill me. Then I come back to _my_ room for some sleep and I have to argue with you because you're jealous of me and you've got a superiority complex! Are you daft, woman?!" Betsy screamed. Jean was so infuriated, she threw Betsy out of the room, through the shut door, using her telekinesis. Betsy hit the opposite side of the hall and the door slammed shut. As Betsy reeled from the pain in her back, she notice Sam and Bobby had stopped dead in their tracks, walking down the hallway when Betsy came flying out of the bedroom. "What are you looking at!?" She screeched. They just turned around and walked back they way they came. She groaned as she stood back up.

            Rogue came storming down the corridor from the other end. Remy was following behind her. "Ah don't need yer help, Cajun. Ah'm fine. Ah don't need anyone. Now leave me alone!" She slammed the door to her room in his face.

            "Rogue--" he tried to plead with her through the door.

            "Oh leave her alone." Betsy grumbled. He hadn't noticed her.

            "Qu'est-ce qui est arrive?" He said. Bets just stared at him blankly. "What happened t'you?" he translated.

            "My side of the room was a bit too messy for the Phoenix." She growled.

            "She's the Phoenix?" Remy pointed at Jean's door.

            "Not yet." She replied, walking toward Rogue's door.

            "Wouldn' mess wit' that one, chère." He advised her. She nodded sarcastically as she knocked on Rogue's door.

            "Ah'm not spendin' another night in the Med Lab!" Rogue screamed.

            "I just wanna sleep in there tonight. I don't care where you go." Betsy yelled back.

            "Ah don't need your help." Rogue spat.

            "I'm not lookin' t'help you anymore. Jean threw me out of my room and I just need some fuckin' sleep for Chrissake!" Everyone who had been sleeping was now poking their heads out in to the hallway to see what the noise was about. "What are you all starin' at? Go back to bed!" Betsy screeched as her hands began to glow. Everyone quickly popped back in their rooms and shut the doors. Rogue's door opened and Betsy stepped inside. Remy was now alone in the hallway.

            "Mon dieu. I need a cigarette." Remy said to himself.  


	14. Chapter 14

Okay, so you guys weren't all that pleased with the last chapter… it's okay, I like Rogue anyway they make her, powers or no. It's just easier to write her into fight scenes now. I just thought the last chapter was cool. This chapter I love, and I hope you all do too. It is Romylicious. It's kinda long, but I think it's worth it, I wanted to make it two chapters, but then part of it would be too short for it's own chapter. But Hey, it's all good. I love all of your reviews and thanks for all of your suggestions. Keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep posting!!!           

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            Days and weeks had passed like seconds. The professor and Hank were both in Scotland, still working with Moira to find a cure. Peter had decided to stay with Illyana until she got better… or died. Kurt had finally gone back to Germany to stay with his family until school started. Kitty decided to stay at the institute, so her parents could work things out without her there adding pressure to an already tense situation. Jean was staying at the institute as well to continue her pre-med education in the professor's absence so he would be impressed to see how much she had improved since his departure. Ororo often took private missions to try and find an explanation for the sentinel, but only ran into dead ends. She and Scott would often act as liaisons to the various media and other organization that wanted to know what was going on behind the mansion's closed doors. Logan was around and about, mostly out, since Remy and Rogue's on again off again "friendship" took up most of her time, but he decided to return for a while, to keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't get to his for _his comfort. Betsy felt like a guest in her own home. She often slept in Kurt's bed or Peter's to avoid Jean as their relationship continued to spiral down hill, but she managed to form a bond with Rogue, weekly going into her head to slide up fresh walls around Carol, lest she breakout. But whenever she hung out with Remy or Rogue, she felt like a third wheel when they were speaking and a mediator when they weren't. And Kitty's personality was a little too much for her at times. _

            Betsy sat in a chair in the recreation room and Rogue and Remy sat on the sofa. Remy had his head in her lap as they watched a movie.

            "Ugh, you smell like an ashtray, Cajun." Rogue joked with him.

            "Actually, I borrowed some a Scott's cologne… thought you liked that stuff." He joked back. Rogue opened her mouth to yell at him, but Betsy diffused the situation by snapping her fingers three times and waving her hand in the air. She didn't have to say anything as the "oh no you di-ent" was implied. It worked, making Rogue smile and forget what she was angry about. She went back to watching the movie when something triggered a random thought in her head.

            "Hey, how come y'all haven't gone home?" She asked Remy and Betsy out of the blue. Remy sat up slowly as Betsy just glared at her. "What're your families like?" she asked again.

            "Uh, Betts?" Remy tried to divert attention from himself.

            "Yeah, Betts?" Rogue encouraged. "Are they mutant haters or something?"

            "No." Betsy said with no emotion as she refused to look back at Rogue, feeling angry and distant at everyone. Remy and Rogue could both pick up on it.

            "Then why don't you go home? When's the last time you saw 'em?" Rogue pressed her further.

            "Three years, almost four now." She said stoically. "They wouldn't recognize me if they saw me." She said as Rogue looked at Remy, confused. Remy quickly looked down at the floor so he wouldn't feel an overwhelming urge to tell Rogue what she meant. "I have a twin brother, Brian. He hated it when I starting dying my hair purple. 'Guess what, Brian? My hair's still purple… but everything else had changed.'" She looked down at the floor, signaling to end the conversation. Rogue didn't get the hint.

            "You have a twin brother? That's so cool! I mean, I have Kurt, but that's different. I always wondered what it would be like t—" "Betsy interrupted her with a cold stare. Rogue decided to change the subject. "I thought it was part of your mutation… I didn't think you died your hair."

            "I don't anymore." Was all Betsy said. Rogue finally decided Betsy wasn't in a good mood she turned to Remy.

            "What is your family like?" She asked him. He looked around the room for an answer. When he couldn't find one, he sighed.

            "I don' wanna talk about it." Rogue got angry. 

            "Y'know, Ah'm tryin' mah best here. Y'all already know everything about me, Ah'm and open book. But y'all won't tell me anything. It's like y'all are part of some secret club where Ah'm not allowed. It's not fair. If y'all wanna be mah friends, you gotta be honest with me." Remy just shrugged his shoulders, and Betsy gave her a passing stare. Rogue got frustrated and stormed up the stairs.

            "Whas' a matter, Betts?" Remy patted the seat next to him on the couch. Betsy got up and sat next to him. He put this arm around her shoulders and drug his fingers up and down the back of her neck. It relaxed Betsy as she shut her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

            "This isn't going at all the way I had expected." She said.

            "How's that?" Remy asked back.

            "I've never felt so foreign before… well… except--"

            "Yeah, I know." He said. "We jus' gotta find our own thing, y'know?"  He reassured her as if it were no big deal. It made her feel slightly vindictive that he could shake his problems so easily.

            "Remy, if they can't trust me, they sure as hell aren't going to be able to trust you."

            "What're you sayin' Betts?" Remy was offended. She looked up at him surprised at his sensitivity.

            "Oh c'mon," she scoffed. "You're a shady character and you know it."

            "An' you should know better then dat." He leaned back away from her.

            "And I do… but, you know what? I don't really know anything about you either. Sinister didn't have a file on you, and you haven't let me in on much. I barely know anymore about you than they do here." He stood up, insulted.

            "Ya know why you're not happy here?" He changed the subject from himself to her.

            "Why?" she egged him on.

            "Because you're not the center a anyone's attention… ya selfish and self centered an' no one cares!" He yelled at her. She stood up furious. He folded his arms and sat down in the chair she was sitting in. Betsy walked up the stairs and into Rogue's room. She slammed the door and screamed at it from the inside. Her hands were glowing and she struggled to make it stop, but it started to finally go away.

            "Ah think you're in the wrong room." Rogue said, sitting on her bed reading a comic book.

            "You want to know about my family?" Betsy shouted at Rogue. Rogue put the comic book down, but Betsy didn't wait for an answer. "My twin brother Brian is a mutant as well. He has super strength, agility and reflexes. He was threatened with death to become Britain's greatest protector, now he's called Captain Britain… but you didn't just hear that. And it was great and wonderful having a twin, but now I don't ever get to talk to him. My older brother Jamie is a race car driver with a gambling problem and my father was a sorcerer, a contemporary of Merlin, don't ask me how, but he is. My mother was a flatscan.  After my powers manifest I worked with British Intelligence as a spy while I kept up the appearances of a model. Shortly thereafter, however, my powers began to grow out of my control. Sinister contacted me and said he was the only one who could help me by giving me a surgery that would make the voices stop. He switched and mixed up my mind with some other woman. When we woke up, we didn't know who was who. Then she got some bogus virus and died, giving me all my mind back. Now, every time I look in the mirror I see her, and I know that the only reason I'm alive is because I stole her body from her… otherwise, it would have been me. That was my debt to Sinister. He took credit for keepin' me alive and forced me to work for him until he decided I was done. Then I jumped ship and joined the Acolytes and came here. There, that's everything, now I'm an open book… are you happy?" She looked at Rogue as she gasped for air and waited for an answer. Rogue shrugged her shoulders. "I beg your pardon?" Betsy was offended her story meant nothing to Rogue.

            "Look, I wanted you to tell me all that stuff because you trusted me, not because you felt guilty for makin' me mad." She said.

            "I wouldn't have told you that at all if I didn't trust you with it."  Rogue sat and thought about her words for a second.

            "You wanna know mah real name?" Betsy smiled and shook her head.

            "You're Rogue and you're always going to be Rogue."

*          *          *

            It was now 2:30 in the morning and Betsy's eyes flickered open. She saw Rogue sitting on Kitty's bed with a mini book light, writing furiously.

            "N'other nightmare?" Rogue was startled to hear Betsy.

            "What are you doin' up?"

            "Habit." Betsy said simply. Rogue nodded and went back to writing. "I don't mean to interrupt--" Betsy paused and Rogue looked up at her inquisitively. "Where's Kitty?"

            "Oh, by the time she and Jean got back from the movie, you'd fallen asleep while were talkin', so I asked her to stay in your room, and I'd stay in her bed. It's no biggie. She and Jean are getting kinds close." Betsy nodded and rogue went back to writing.

            "Tell me about it." Rogue looked back up at Betsy. "Your memory, I mean." Rogue got up and sat on the floor next to the head of the bed to be eye to eye with Betsy. She held her book light over the notebook and began to read from it.

            "Ah'm crouchin' in the closet with Rose. No one ever seemed to have enough faith that Ah would get better, but Rose does. She's young… she came to take care of me because nobody else has the patience anymore. Ah'm sick all the time, and grandfather and father look at me like Ah'm not really part of the family anymore since they fired Thomas. Mother isn't happy anymore either since he left... Ah don't think father loves her anymore. 

            "Rose is hidin' me in the closet cause Thomas has come back. He hurt father and grandfather, but father got him first. My hands… they hurt so bad. Mother cries for Thomas and Dog is yellin' at her to shut up, but she cries anyway. Dog raises his hand to her… there's somethin' in it. She takes it from him and hits herself with it. Rose hugs mah head as mother screams to keep from crying… Ah feel like Ah can't breathe. And then Ah fall asleep" Rogue wept as she looked up at Betsy. She slid out of the bed to be next to her. Rogue huddled up to keep Betsy from touching her exposed arms, but Betsy rubbed her back, as she sobbed. "They killed the whole family." Rogue said. She laid her head on Betsy's shoulder, and Betsy put her head on top of Rogue's. Betsy couldn't help but start to nod off.

            "Who's?" Betsy asked, trying to stay awake.

            "Ah dunno… some boy named James." Rogue said as her tears subsided.

            "Do you want me to press further?" Betsy offered to go into Rogue's mind to clear up the memory.

            "No thanks." Rogue shook her head as she stood up. "Ah'm jus' gonna go sit on the roof for a while."

            "Do you want me to come with you?" Rogue looked down at Betsy who was practically falling asleep on the floor.

            "Nah, go back to bed, Betts."

            "okay." Betsy mumbled, not moving at all, besides slightly nodding her head. Rogue smiled at her as she opened the window in her bedroom. The cool, late summer air blew refreshingly as she stepped out on to the ledge. Rogue used the ladder that was attached to the side of the building as a fire escape, but covered by ivy to look pretty. After a step or two, she remembered Ms. Marvel's powers that wouldn't seem to go away, and she flew with ease, as she'd been developing them in Logan's sessions. She landed gracefully on the flat, graveled roof, and crossed to the other side where she could see more of the city of Bayville. Then she saw something that made her stop.

            "What're you doin' here?" She snapped. Remy twisted around. His knees were bent up, but all the way to his chest. He rested his forearm on one of his knees as his red eyes flashed, staining to see her in the dark. He raised his hand to reveal a cigarette between his middle and index fingers. He said nothing, then turned back around as he took a drag. She was surprised to see someone smoking underage, much less at the institute. She tried not to let on her naivety as she walked over to sit next to him.

            "Ya know, you're gonna die a cancer." She said as she swung her legs over the side of the roof.

            "I never met anyone with the luck t'live long enough f'r the cancer t'kill 'em." He said, flicking his ashes without looking at her. "What're you doin' out here?" 

            "Ah come out here ta be alone." She said, monitoring how close her elbow was to his knee. He examined his cigarette as he exhaled a stream of smoke.

            "I won' be too long." Then he took another puff. She shrugged her shoulders.

            "S'alright." They sat in silence for a minute, avoiding eye contact. 

            "So ya made up wit' Betsy?"

            "Yeah." She nodded. "Ah'm sorry Ah yelled at ya." She said as she looked up at him. He took another puff on his cigarette as he glanced down at her. "Ah'm not sorry about what Ah said, but Ah shouldn'a yelled, Ah shoulda talked to you about it."

            "Ah know." He said. She waited for him to continue. When he realized she wasn't going to say anything more, he went on. "I didn' wanna tell ya 'bout ma famille, cause they remind Remy of the pond scum he is." He took another drag.

            "You're not pond scum, Remy." She said "You're swamp scum." She smiled, and he did the same. "Really Remy, you're not scum at all." 

            "Remy's family is. They got me thievin' by my 13th birthday. My whole family, my whole life is based on what's been stolen from others.. Talkin' bout 'em… thinkin' bout 'em… it reminds Remy how much he don' deserve this place, don' deserve someone like you."

            "What'd you mean 'someone like me'?" She smiled. He threw his cigarette butt off the roof.

            "Rogue… you gotta know…" She smiled wider now.

            "Ah know, Remy." She put her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her to be more comfortable.

            "No Rogue… I mean… as much fun as it is, I don' wanna jus' flirt with ya no more." She looked back up at him. He focused intently on her green eyes… she focused on his red ones. They spoke silently. She rested her head back down on his shoulder. She shivered slightly as s breeze blew over her. He used his mutant ability to kinetically charge the air molecules around them. As they exploded, it released a burst of heat. He kissed her one the top of her head.

            "Tell me more about your family, Remy." He sighed and rested his head on hers. 

            "Ma mère tossed me out when I was born… saw my eyes an' thought I was th' devil."

            "Wasn't too far off." Rogue joked. He chuckled.

            "Lived on the streets of New Orleans till Jean-Luc LeBeau let me pick his pocket."

            "He _let_ you?"

            "Oui… testin' me." Rogue closed her eyes as she listened to his story. "I mean, ya don' pull one over on the King o' t'ieves." He continued. "I wanted nothin' more than t'please that man. I always felt I had t'prove that he didn' waste his time on me. All I ever wanted was a pat on th'back, y'know?" Rogue nodded wearily. "I did everything he asked me, an' I did it well. Remy made one little mistake an' he tossed me out." He looked down at Rogue. He thought she was asleep. He brushed her white bangs back up behind her ear with his gloved fingers. She jumped awake at his touch.

            "Ah'm up, Ah was listenin'." He smiled at her. "What did you do?" she asked, validating her previous statement.

            "I was set up." He said. "They used me an' then dey kicked me out." He said. "Th'other family, th'other guild, the Assassins. We was the thieves, they was the assassins. Ma petite amie, my girl, she was the princess a her guild, I was the prince a mine. They had us… get together… an' her brother didn' like me, so we had t'fight. I didn' want to, I never wanted to. He was an assassin, he'd been trained t'kill since birth. If we had a lock pickin' contest, I wouldda kicked his ass, but…" He trailed off to see if she was still listening.

            "But what?" she asked, half asleep.

            "But he was a murderer." He went on. "I expected to lose, an' I was ready to, but I still didn' want to _die_. My powers… they showed themselves then. I didn' mean to, I- I couldn' help it, chère." She looked up at him, her eyes were half closed.

            "What happened, Remy? Tell me." She said. He stroked her face with his gloved hand.

            "He died." Remy whispered. "They tol' me I had t'leave an' never come back, or they'd kill my family. So I left. I didn' wanna hurt no one else, so I went ta Sinister." She wanted to cry for him. He needed to cry, but he wouldn't… he couldn't. So someone had to do it for him. She out her head back down on his shoulder. They stared at the city laid out before them as her tears soaked through his coat.  He stroked her head until she went to sleep. He held her tightly as he carefully climbed back down the ladder she had begun to come up on. He carried her like a precious treasure after a heist. He slipped into her room and put her in bed. He kissed her head again and walked out of the room. Betsy waited till he was gone to wipe the tears from her face.

*          *          * 

            Rogue laid on her bed, Reading a comic book. Betsy sat on the floor against Rogue's bed, also reading a comic book, while Kitty laid on her bed and painted her nails. 

            "Whaddaya think?" Kitty said, displaying her freshly painted hand.

            "Marvelous…" Rogue said, rolling her eyes. Kitty stuck her tongue out at her.

            "Betsy?" Kitty asked for a second opinion. She laid the comic book down.

            "Oh, it's brilliant." Betsy said honestly. Kitty smiled. "It goes great with that top." They were interrupted by a knocking at the door. Betsy and Rogue looked at each other, then looked at Kitty.

            "Aww man." She said, getting up from the bed. She fought to turn the door knob with out ruining her nails. She gave up and phased through the door, then re-entered, pushing Remy and Logan through the door from behind. They were both in their uniforms.

            "Uh… thanks half-pint…" Logan said to Kitty. Remy bowed to her, ever the gentleman. Logan growled at him, then caught whiff of something. "You been smokin' again, Gumbo?"

            "Never, M'sieu Logan." He said smiling. The girls all giggled at his blatant lie. Logan growled again, then got back to the subject at hand. "I'm gonna teach this Cajun how ta fight. We need someone to run the danger room." Betsy and Rogue looked at Kitty again.

            "Oh no… I got up to get the door." She replied, blowing on her nails.

            "Well I don't know how." Betsy said, looking up at Rogue. Rogue sighed.

            "What about Scott and Jean?" She looked for away out.

            "Sent 'em to pick up the elf from the airport." Logan replied.

            "C'mon Roguey…" Remy pleaded with her. Logan growled at him again. Rogue turned her head and smiled at the small possessive competition over her. Remy smiled too although he couldn't see her.

            "Rogue, show me how to work it." Betsy said, as she stood up, ending the stalemate. Rogue sighed heavily as she stood up too. She walked out the door first, passing everyone without saying anything.

            As she passed Remy he leaned over to whisper in her ear. She stopped for him. "Remy feels it when you smile." She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back. Logan smiled, proud of Rogue. Betsy followed her out throwing a snicker at both Remy and Logan and their immaturity. Remy raised his eyebrows as he watched Betsy's hips sway back and forth seductively. Logan pulled him back in the room and walked out in front of him. Kitty giggled as Remy shrugged his shoulders and shut the door behind him.

*          *          *

            Gambit and Logan faced each other in the middle of the danger room floor. Gambit smirked as Wolverine snarled.

            "Alright, Stripes, Betts, run the simulation." Wolverine called out to the control room hovering above them.

            "Okay, hold on." Betsy called back.

            "It's that one." Rogue pointed to one of the many buttons.

            "Oh right, I knew that." Betsy pressed the button. Gambit looked up to the control tower and blew Rogue a kiss. She rolled her eyes, but she smiled and blushed at the same time.

            "Keep your eyes open, Gumbo." Wolverine advised him. The two began sparring down below as guns fired and things flew out of the walls at them.

            "My money's on Wolverine." Betsy said as Rogue watched the fight below.

            "Hmmm…" She sighed. "Ah think Gambit can pull it out."

            "Well you're biased." Betsy smiled at her. "So it's a bet then, what are the terms?" Betsy said as she rolled around in the swivel chair. The girls jumped back as an arsenal of explosive playing cards hit the window of the tower. "Wow, they're really having it out down there." Betsy said as she looked down over the big computer.

            Wolverine thrashed his claws at Gambit, who evaded each one deftly. "You hurt her," he said as he split a flying disk coming straight at his head. "You hurt her and I'll slice off your arms and beat you to death with 'em."

            "Wouldn' dream a hurtin' the femme, Wolverine." Gambit said as he threw his bo staff up to deflect his opponent's claws. "I'd have to die if she ever shed a tear." Wolverine reeled at the meaning of the boy's words. Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of possessiveness overtook him. With all of his strength, he threw his claws down at Gambit, dicing his staff into pieces. Gambit was shocked, the new staff he got with X-Men had been made of adamantium. He never expected it would break so easily. He looked back up, just past Wolverine. "DUCK!" He screamed, tossing away half of the staff and holding up the other half like a baseball bat as he charged it up. Wolverine did as he was told, and dropped to the floor. Gambit charged the staff and swung it at a flying metal ball that would have hit Wolverine in the back of the head. When the ball made contact with the bat, it too became kinetically unstable and hit the opposite side of the wall in a massive explosion.

            "So you two are pretty hot and heavy now?" Betsy asked Rogue, prying for information about their relationship.

            "Yes… well, no… Ah mean yes but… it's complicated. Just read my mind and you'll understand." She sighed, looking back at Betsy.

            "I'm afraid, each time I go in there, that someone is gonna run up behind me with a big stick and club me over the head." Betsy smiled as Rogue chuckled.

            "Oh, ow…" Rogue said, suddenly doubling over in pain while rubbing the back of her head.

            "What's wrong? It is Ms. Marvel?" Betsy jumped up, worried about her friend.

            "No, no…" Rogue stood back up. "Ah'm fine." She tried to fend Betsy off as she got closer. "This is diff'rent… like I was hit in the back of the head with something." Betsy's head perked up in confusion.

            Back down below, Gambit approached Wolverine who was sprawled on the floor, recovering from the explosion. He rolled over on his back to see Gambit standing over him, smiling wickedly. Gambit held the charged staff over Wolverine and lowered it to Wolverine's neck.

            "I win." Gambit said, still smiling.

            "Alright, bub…" Wolverine admitted. He couldn't knock the stick away as it could explode against his arm or claws. He was at Gambit's mercy.

            "Mais non, d'abord, vous devez dire « oncle »" Gambit said, pressing the staff into Wolverine's neck ever so slightly.

            "In America, Cajun, we speak American… Okay, end the simulation." Wolverine called up. The girls weren't paying attention. "Hey!" Wolverine yelled. Gambit uncharged the bo staff. They had to duck laser guns and flying projectiles while Wolverine attempted to call out. "End the simulation, NOW!" Nothing happened. "Throw some cards up there or something, Gumbo!" 

            "I'm out." Gambit said, looking into his empty coat pocket. As he was distracted, Gambit was hit in the back of the head with a metal ball. He was knocked forward, unconscious. Wolverine rolled in to save him from an cache of laser fire. Wolverine closed his eyes and concentrated hard.

            Betsy was knocked out of the chair as Logan's thoughts entered her mind.

            "_BETSY, END THE SIMULATION, NOW!" _

            "Alright, alright." Betsy said aloud as she situated herself back in the chair. "Where's the button?" She asked Rogue.

            "What button?" Rogue asked back.

            "The one to end the session." Rogue looked down into the arena. 

            "Gambit!" Rogue shouted as she saw his lifeless body in Wolverine's arms, darting them both out of harms way. Betsy looked down to see the scene.

            "Oh bloody hell, where's the damn button!?" Betsy shouted frantically.

            "There." Rogue pressed a button and the danger room died. "What happened?" Rogue called down through the communication system

            "He got hit in the head." Logan said back. "He oughtta be alright." Betsy smacked Rogue in the arm, calmed by Remy's stable condition.

            "I bet that was Ms. Marvel's 7th sense!" she said.

            "What was?" Rogue replied, confused.

            "You felt like you got hit in the back of the head and then Remy did. You sensed his danger… how sweet." Betsy fluttered her eyelashes, mocking Rogue. Rogue rolled her eyes at Betsy as she left the control room and went down to the door of the danger room and Betsy followed. They were there to greet Logan as he carried Remy out of the room.

            "So who won?" Betsy asked excitedly.

            "What? You mean ta tell me you weren't payin' attention?" Logan looked down at her and growled sarcastically.

            "Wow, Rogue, I guess I owe you." She said, following behind Logan and Rogue.

            "Are you sure he's okay?" Rogue asked Logan worriedly as she ignored Betsy.

            "Stripes," Logan sighed. "I'm not a doctor, I don't know anything for sure." Betsy moved Rogue out of the way and pried Remy's eyelids open. 

            "Oh, yeah, he's fine." She said, seeing no signs of internal damage. "Nothing I can't fix in a jiff." She said nonchalantly.

            "Why don't we just let him wake up on his own?" Rogue said as Logan laid him down on the bed in the med lab.

            "Are you sure?" Betsy asked, surprised. Rogue nodded, not taking her eyes off Remy. "Okay…" She replied as she found a towel and got it damp. She handed it to Rogue. Then the phone began to rang. That was Logan's cue to leave as he walked into Hank's office adjacent to the lab and answered the phone. Betsy followed him, but stopped in the doorway.

            Rogue sat on the bed next to Remy, pressing the cold towel against his face. She did this for a minute or two until his eyes opened. Her face lit up.

            "This can't be right." He whispered.

            "What?" she said.

            "People like me don' get t'go to heaven." He said.

            "What're you talkin' about?" She tried to act like her frustrates self, but she was so happy and relieved to see him awake, she couldn't fool anybody.

            "It means you're in heaven if the first thing y'see when y'wake is an angel." She smiled at his compliment, blinking her eyes to keep back tears of happiness. He winced as he sat up too quickly. Rogue almost fell back due to the small size of the bed, but he put his arms around her lower back. Their faces were only an inch or two apart. Remy glanced over to the office to see Logan occupied on the phone through the glass wall that separated the office from the infirmary. HE leaned in to kiss Rogue, and she instinctively leaned back, giving him a chance to remember her mutation. He looked into her deep green eyes than leaned his head down to kiss her along her collar bone, as close to her neck as her shirt would allow. She leaned her head against his and closed her eyes, savoring every moment of closeness. "I thought I died." He whispered to her.

            "I was afraid you would… it was just a bump on the head though… isn't that silly?" She whispered back, not filtering what came out of her mouth.

*          *          *

            Betsy still watched in the doorway of the office. She was happy for her friends, they found so little happiness in their own lives… they deserved each other, they deserved to be happy. But she also felt a tinge of jealousy. Since the moment she met Remy, she wanted him. She knew it wasn't meant to be and tried her hardest to deny it, but she couldn't stop herself from falling in love with him. She knew he had to feel it in her, but he was too gentlemanly to address it. She wanted to get up to leave when she sensed Logan behind her.

            "Betts, the professor's on the phone, he wants to talk to ya." She tilted her head at the sympathy in his voice as she suspiciously got up to take the phone. "Hey, bub…" Logan said, noticing Remy and Rogue huddled up on the bed. They both looked at him, startled. "I think you'd better lay back down, Gumbo."

            "Non, merci, mon ami. I feel great" Remy smiled as Logan unsheathed his claws. Rogue took her hands off his back and laid him back down by his shoulders.

            "Stupid swamp rat." She said.

            "Beautiful river rat." He replied.

*          *          *

            "Betsy?" The professor said as she picked up the phone. She was startled at first, since she hadn't made any sound to alert him she'd answer the phone, but then again, he was the world's most powerful telepath.

            "Yes sir?" she answered.

            "Peter and I will be returning home in a week or two."

            "Oh! You found a cure! What about Beast? Why isn't he coming home?" There was silence for moment.

            "No, Betsy. We still have yet to find a cure."

            "But I thought he was going to stay until Illyana got better or…" That's when it hit Betsy.

            "Peter and I are going to Russia to help his family make arrangements."

            "That's not fair." Betsy said as tears welled up in her eyes. She sat down at the desk and massaged her forehead with the hand that wasn't holding the phone.

            "I know it isn't Betsy, but…"

            "No." Betsy shouted at him. "He doesn't deserve this. It's not fair." She said.

            "I know Betsy; I just wanted to let you know." She fought back tears. "I will speak with you soon." She nodded, knowing he would sense her response as she hung up the phone. She folded her arms on the desk and put her head down, crying. Logan sat down next to her and put a hand on her back.

            "It'll be okay, kid." He said, trying to comfort her.

            "How many more seven year old little girls have to die before it is?" 


	15. Chapter 15

Hey friends!! Sorry it's been about a week since I last updated, too much stuff going on. Blah. This chapter starts out pretty good, but then it gets kinda clichéd. Sorry. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, cause it means so much to me!    

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            "Thank God the first week of school is almost over." Rogue grumbled as she moved a piece of cafeteria food around on her tray.

            "Tell me 'bout it." Remy said, picking something off her plate and popping it in his mouth.

            "Oh c'mon… It's not so bad. I think some of the novelty has worn off." Kitty said, trying to maintain a pleasant demeanor.

            "You mean it used to be worse than this?" Betsy said as she eyed a jock who was staring at her as he passed her. He whistled at her and it sent a chill up her spine. "In his dreams…" Betsy mumbled to herself in response. "Dumb swine thinks he can do anything he wants…"

            "Hey guys!" Kurt said as he and Amanda joined them at the table. They all moaned heir hello's. "Amanda, that's Betsy Braddock, and that's Remy LeBeau." Kurt pointed to them respectively. "This is Amanda." He then pointed to the girl sitting between himself and Remy.

            "Yeah, Betsy's in my English class." Amanda said with a smile. "Kurt says you wear an image inducer too, are you _green_ and fuzzy or something?" She said as she addressed Remy. He turned his chocolaty brown eyes at her.

            "Non, p'tite." He said in his sweetest voice as he fiddled with the inducer on his wrist. It shut off and revealed to her his red and black eyes. It made Amanda jump back. "Ne t'en fais pas, belle. I'm not the devil." 

            "I know." She said, halfway exasperated.

            "Ma mère didn'." He said. Amanda was fixated on his eyes. Kurt and Rogue began to get jealous.

            "Hey, ya big, dumb, Cajun flirt. You wanna throw out mah trash?" Rogue smiled sarcastically at him, setting her tray in front of him.

            "Anything for you, chère." He smiled back at her, just as sarcastically, snapping his attention back to Rogue as he stood up.

            "Oh, me too." Kurt said, tossing his tray in front of Remy. Kitty, Amanda and Betsy all giggled.

            "Anyone else?" Remy asked patiently. They all tossed their garbage on the pile in front of him. He smiled and took the refuse to the garbage can.

            As he made his way through the sea of high school kids, he was bumped in the shoulder by someone much bigger than him. Remy fell on the floor, spilling the mound of trash across the ground. He looked up to see a crowd of jocks standing around him.

            "Watch where you're going, mutie." One of them said.

            "Excusez-moi, homme." Remy said politely, further irking the jocks.

            "What did you call me?" The one who's hit him said, leaning down to grab the collar of Remy's shirt. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Everyone else filed out except Kitty, Kurt, Amanda, Rogue and Betsy. They all stayed to watch what would happen between Remy and the entire football team, ready to protect him if need be.

            "I'm sorry, it was an accident. Not worth fightin' over." Remy said, trying to defuse the situation.

            "I'll decide that." The bully said, waving his friends out of the room.

            "Excuse me." Rogue spoke up. Everyone turned to stare at her. "You'd better set mah boyfriend down while it's still your choice."

            "Roguey, don't." Remy pleaded with her. "It's my problem."

            "Not anymore it ain't." She replied.

            "An' just what're you gonna do about it, precious?" The guy said, throwing Remy back down on the ground with a thud as he approached Rogue.

            "_Don't do it, Rogue…" Betsy warned her telepathically. Rogue ignored her._

            "See this?" She said, making sure she had the boy's attention. He stood almost a foot taller than her, and she wasn't short. 

            "See what?" He replied forcefully. Rogue picked up her arm and flung it through the cement wall, punching a hole right through it, without feeling a thing. Everyone jumped back at the sound, but the mutants weren't surprised at its result. The jock, however, was shocked.

            "Next time it'll be your head." Rogue said to him. 

            "You're gonna get kicked outta school for this, mutants." The boy stammered out.

            "Whadda ya mean? A little gal like me couldn't do nothin' like that." She pointed her thumb at the hole in the wall, sounding as sweet and innocent as possible. "Big guy like you on the other hand… ain't such a stretch." She turned cold and evil but all of her friends still stood behind her in support. Remy was still sitting on the floor where he'd been thrown. The big guy snorted then began to storm out of the room.

            "I'll get you… I'll get all a you." Once he was gone the rest all let down their furious wall of strength.

            "That was stupid, Rogue." Betsy chided her. Rogue bent down to Remy's side.

            "Ah don't care." She said.

            "So I'm yo' _boyfriend_?" Remy said as he took her outstretched arm and lifted himself up.

            "Ah guess so." She smiled at him.

            "Kurt, we'd better get to class!" Amanda said.

            "Oh no! I'm late for Chem!" Kitty shouted as she ran through the cafeteria doors.

            "Well, I've got a free period." Betsy announced.

            "See ya later, Betts." Remy said as he and Rogue ran down the hallway to class. Betsy was alone as she walked down the hallway. She reveled in the quiet as she made her way toward her locker. She heard foot steps behind her and tried to block them out while she walked to the front doors to sit in the sunshine.

            "Hey, crouching tiger." She winced as the person behind her addressed her. She turned around to see a guy in a letterman's jacket. It was one of the football players from earlier, the one who whistled at her as he passed her in the lunch room. 

            "Sod off." She growled at him over her shoulder and continued on her way walking down the hallway. He walked faster to catch up with her. She just tried to ignore him.

            "Me no speaky Chinee." He mocked her as he bumped into her side, pushing her into the lockers.

            "I'm not Chinese." She said trying to ignore his physical attack. She focused hard to keep her hands from glowing.

            "Okay then, me no speaky freaky mutie." He said as he pinned her arms to her side, holding her up against the lockers.

            "I don't want to hurt you." She warned him.

            "You know, if you weren't some disgusting mutant, you could be pretty." He tried to intimidate her. As much as his plan worked, she wouldn't let it show.

            "Well I _am_ a mutant, so leave me alone!" She barked at him.

            "Not so big and tough when it's just you, huh?" Betsy's hands began to glow slightly at her sides. "Wow, is it hot in here, or is it just me?" The guy thought he was being suave and powerful, but when Betsy looked over his shoulder, her eyes got wide.

            "It's definitely not just you." The kid turned around and found himself face to face with a dragon made of fire. The dragon roared at him. He looked at Betsy, then back at the dragon, then ran down the hall. Betsy watched him, then looked back at the dragon which had almost completely dissipated by now. She bent down to pick up her book bag which she'd dropped, only to see that it was on fire.

            "Pyro!!" She yelled. "My knapsack's on fire!! Put it out before it sets off an alarm!!" Pyro jumped out from behind the row of lockers, surprised he'd let a flame get out of control. He shoved his lighter back in his pocket and waved his hand over the small flame and it died out. Just then a teacher poked her head out into the hallway. Betsy and Pyro's bodies covered the flames so she saw nothing.

            "What's going on out here?" The teacher yelled at Betsy.

            "Uh… really difficult math problem." The teacher leered at Betsy as she slithered back into the classroom. "I didn't need your help." Betsy said to Pyro as soon as the coast was clear.

            "Well you weren't goin' t'use your powers, sheila, someone had to." Pyro explained.

            "I said I didn't need your help."  She tried to be angry, but his goofy smile made her ferocity fizzle. She merely sighed at him. "What are you doing here, anyway?" 

            "What can I say? You had me pegged. It took me half the summer and the first week of school t'get 'em t'get me in." 

            "Well that little stunt of yours will get you kicked out on your first day." She bent down to pick her things up off the floor, and Pyro bent down to help her.

            "Actually, he thinks you did it." Betsy glared at him, afraid of the consequences. "Don't worry," he tried to comfort her, "He won't tell anyone he got scared off by a girlie mutant." She scowled at him as she put her things back in her bag.  "Even if he did tell, you wouldn't get kicked out."

            "And why is that?" His peculiar comment enticed her to join the conversation. 

            "The new principal's a mutant sympathizer." Betsy smiled, it was refreshing to hear someone didn't hate mutants. "She only fought with me so long so the school board wouldn't revoke her appointment. She might let the rest of the brotherhood back in soon."

            "Well that's nice, I guess." They stood up and she leaned against the lockers. Pyro put a hand just over her shoulder, and leaned against the lockers as well.

            "I'm gonna let you in a teeny little secret." He whispered to her and smiled maniacally.

            "What's that?" She smiled back.

            "Hey, maybe you know her." A spark went off in his brain and he got side tracked.

            "What?" Betsy asked.

            "She's a telepath too." He whispered again. Betsy looked up at him surprised.

            "So what makes you think I know her?"

            "Well, you're a British telepath, Miss Frost is a British telepath… I mean how many can there be?" Betsy's eyes got even wider.

            "Miss Frost?" She muttered. He nodded. "You mean… Emma Frost?"

            "You do know her… see, I'm not crazy… well I am but--" He was interrupted as Betsy dropped her scorched bag on his foot. She started running down the hall then stopped.

            "I'm glad you've come to school… If you need a table to sit at during lunch, I'll save you seat. Oh, and you've got something on your neck!" She called to him, then took off again, leaving no time for him to respond. He placed a hand on his neck to feel the something she mentioned. When he felt the strange bump, he figured it must be a bug bite, or a rash, or something.

*          *          *

*BAMF!*

            Kurt ported into his room to see Remy sitting on his bed, just string out the window.

            "Bobby and Sam are back from the video store." Kurt interrupted him.

            "Bout time." Remy said, jumping off the bed.

            "Storm took all the girls out for ice cream." Kurt informed him.

            "Why?"

            "Jean didn't ace her first biology test, Kitty's parents finally filed for divorce, Rogue is really shaken over Peter's sister, and Betsy thinks the new principal is evil." 

            "Rogue is really shaken?" Remy asked, surprised.

            "Ya, the memories she has... It hit her worse than she thought. She didn't tell you?" Remy thought for a second.

            "What's the movie?" He finally said, changing the subject. Kurt understood.

            "James Bond!" Kurt said excitedly. Remy started for the door. "I can get us there much quicker." Kurt said, stretching a hand to Remy. Remy turned around and stared at the blue, three fingered appendage.

            "For real?" Remy asked. Kurt nodded and Remy took his hand.

*BAMF!*

*BAMF!*

            They reappeared in the middle of the rec-room .

            "Alright! I'll go get the popcorn!" Kurt began to run on all fours into the kitchen nearby.

            "We hit a snag, guys." Scott announced.

            "What? What happened?" Kurt whined.

            "Apparently the last time they went to the video store, _somebody_ thought it would be funny to switch all the tapes." Scott replied, half lecturing.

            "It was Bobby's idea!" Sam shouted, diverting the blame from himself

            "Hey, the last time we did it, they all the tapes switched back by the next weekend." Bobby tried to defend himself

            "So this means what?" Remy asked.

            "This means we don't have James Bond, we have Cyrano de Bergerac." Scott said as he struggled to pronounce the title.

            "Ah… Cyrano." Remy said nostalgically.

            "You know Cyrano?" Scott asked.

            "Oui, bien sûr. It's a classic." He replied, sounding intelligent.

            "Oh great, you can translate for us." Scott said as they all sat down. Kurt disappeared to get the popcorn.

            "Oh… okay, I guess." Remy mumbled. Kurt returned with the popcorn in his tail and they put in the video.

            Remy started out doing his best trying to translate the movie. But he didn't really know French. He knew short phrases and understood certain words as part of his Creole culture, but he wasn't at all fluent in the language itself. Luckily for him though, there wasn't any situation he couldn't talk his way out of. He decided to do all the different voices for all the different characters in the film, and made up his own dialogue. Remy was a one man show. He had everyone laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor. About an hour into the movie, the doorbell rang. Being the closest thing to an adult, Scott got up to answer it.

            "Don't start the movie till I come back." Scott said, wiping a tear from his eye as his stomach muscles relaxed. He opened the door to see a rather short blond girl in a frilly blue dress with combat boots and sunglasses. She smiled at Scott as if she were about to try and sell him aluminum siding. "Yes… can I help you?" He asked her suspiciously.

            "Hello." She said, lowering her glasses to reveal peculiar purple eyes. "Mah name is Belladonna Boudreaux… Ah'm lookin' for mon mari… mah husband." Scott's suspicion grew instantly ten fold. She looked far to young to be married, and so was anyone else here.

            "I'm sorry, we don't have anyone here by that name, you must have the wrong address." He began to shut the door on her. Something about her voice oozed with evil. She stepped her foot inside, stopping the door.

            "Boudreaux is mah maiden name… let me start ovah. Mah name is Belladonna LeBeau, this is Remy's home, non?" Scott was stunned and confused. He didn't know if he could believe the girl or not. He turned his head back to the group assembled in front of the TV.

            "Hurry it up, Scott." Kurt yelled at him. Scott ignored him, overwhelmed with bewilderment about the girl.

            "Uh… Remy, there's some girl here for you." He looked back at the girl at the door. She looked impatient, but quickly smiled to keep up friendly appearances. "She says she's Belladonna." Remy, who had been smiling and laughing, stopped dead at the name. He dropped his glass of soda he'd been drinking. It shattered as it hit the coffee table. He bent down to clean it up.

            "I'll be there in a minute, homme." He scrambled to think of a way out of this situation. He would have excused himself to the restroom and never come back, but Kurt was keeping a very close watch on Remy since a girl, that was not Rogue, had been mentioned.

            "Belle chateau, mon ami." Belladonna said as Scott continued to watch her. When his facial expression didn't change, she figured he hadn't understood her. "Nice house." She translated.

            "Yeah, I heard you the first time." He said coldly. She decided if he wasn't going to be friendly, she didn't have to be either.

            "What's takin' him so long?" She barked at Scott. He then moved out of the way and Remy took his place.

            "Don' wait up for me." Remy said to Scott as he stepped outside. He put a hand on Belladonna's shoulder blade and directed her off the Institute's front steps. "Whadda you want, Belle?" He finally said once Scott had shut the door.

            "What's the mattah, Remy? Can't a woman come an' see her husband from tahm t' tahm?" She said, showing him her pearly whites.

            "I thought we had an understandin'. We weren't ever goin' t'see each other again. I get outta town, I keep my head. That's the deal."

            "Deal's changed, Remy." She interrupted him. He looked at her as they walked down one of the paths that lead through the woods behind the mansion. "It's the tithe." She said. Remy stopped dead in his tracks. It took her a step or two before she realized she'd left him behind.

            "Tithe ain't my problem no more." He said.

            "It is now." She snapped her fingers and nearly two dozen men appeared out of no where to pounce on Remy. He didn't resist, knowing their skill. They had him tied up in less than thirty seconds and held his head up by his hair as Belle leaned in and smiled at him. "Cause this year, Candra wants you."

*          *          *

            "Man, vere iz he? He's been out there almost half an hour." Kurt said, looking at his watch.

            "Where's who?" Kitty said, flopping on the couch next to him.

            "Remy." Scott said as the girls all came back from their ice cream.

            "Where'd he go?" Betsy said as she entered the room.

            "Some chick showed up and said she was his wife. He went outside to talk to her, but that was, like, 25 minutes ago."

            "His _wife_?" Everyone shouted.

            "His _what_?" Rogue asked. Everyone turned to look at her. No one knew she had come in the room.

            "Just some crazy yahoo saying she was Remy's wife." Scott said trying to cover his tracks.

            "She better be crazy." Rogue mumbled.

            "Why haven't you gone out to look for him?" Betsy asked the fearless leader.

            "Well…" Scott started.

            "Why?" Betsy yelled.

            "He said not to wait up for him, and you know Remy and women, I wouldn't be surprised if he…"

            "Don't finish that sentence, one eye." Kitty yelled at him. Everyone was surprised she would stand up for Remy.

            "We have to find him." Betsy said.

            "Why aren't we already?" Rogue asked. Betsy eyed Scott for an answer.

            "He probably went willingly." He said.

            "You think he went willingly with some strange girl without tellin' anybody. You think he just up an' left me?" Scott tilted his head, silently answering yes. Rogue got very angry, very fast. She lifted herself up off the ground and began to charge at Scott. All he could do was put his hands up; she was invulnerable to his optic blasts. Cannonball, on the other hand, pushed himself off the wall behind Scott, activating his flight and kinetic invulnerability. He collided with Rogue, mid air. But since he was going so much faster than her, he pushed her back through the opposite wall. 

            "Good job, Scott." Kitty mocked him sarcastically. Everyone was unmoved by the destruction the two had caused. Things like that were a natural occurrence.

            "We have to find him." Betsy reiterated, focusing back on the issue at hand. Scoot just looked around the room, trying to avoid Betsy's piercing gaze. "Excuse me?" She said to his evasion. "Well if you won't go find him, I'll do it myself… some tem leader you are."

            "Ah'm comin' too." Rogue yelled, pushing Sam and chunks of drywall off of her.

            "Anyone else?" Betsy put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. No one answered. Betsy looked at Jean who was sitting on the arm of Scott's chair. She smirked at the lack of support Betsy drew. "Kitty?"

            "Well…" Kitty tried to avoid answering the question, but Betsy's body language demanded a response. "I think what Scott said was stupid, but I think we need to know more before we set off on a mission."

            "Thanks roomy." Rogue said, standing at Betsy's side.

            "I'm coming as well." Storm said as she descended from the sky, joining Betsy and Rogue. Betsy scoffed at Jean, showing her the caliber of her support.

            "Jean, if you're not going to come, you can at least show me how to use cerebro so we can so we know where to start." Betsy said. Jean looked down at Scott, then narrowed her eyes at Betsy. "Alright, I'll just go play with the world's most powerful mutant locator, mentally connecting me with each one on the planet, including all of you, while I play with the buttons and it messes with my brain, because I have no idea what I'm doing!" Betsy smiled sarcastically

            "Fine." Jean relented. "But cerebro's only going to get you so close."

            "Then we'll just have to go on instinct from there." Storm said.

            "If it helps you any, she had purple eyes." Scot said from his chair. Rogue jumped as a memory flashed in her mind.

            "Belladonna!" She blurted. Betsy, Storm and Scott all looked at her, surprised.

            "You know her?" Scott asked.

            "No." Rogue spat.

            "A repressed memory?" Storm tried again.

            "Bingo…" Rogue said through gritted teeth. "It's all comin' back to me now…"

            "Well, maybe you'll recognize something once we get close." Betsy said, trying to focus Rogue's attention back to the task at hand. They all left to go suit up.

*          *          *

            Gambit sighed for what must have been the millionth time since he got himself into this situation. There wasn't much else he could do though, since he was tied to his chair. His hands were tied to its back legs so he couldn't get his hands on anything and charge it up. The room he sat in was bare. It was a cell the assassin's guild used to house their thieving prisoners. Gambit was being watched by one masked assassin. The man stood over him with a gun. He couldn't see who it was, but he knew anyway.

            "So you a big man in th'guild now, huh, Gris?"

            "Hold your tongue, thief." With that, Belladonna burst into the room.

            "Merci, Gris-Gris, you can go now. Keep watch till Candra gets here." The masked man nodded then left the room. Belle picked up the stool Gris-Gris had been sitting on in the corner and set it directly in front of Gambit.

            "What's this about, Belle?"

            "How's your mutant girlfriend?" She said, brushing off his question. Gambit looked at the floor. He charging the chair he was tied to and then uncharging it. He wanted to be sure that if anyone used cerebro to try and find him, they could. Belladonna merely thought he was fidgeting.

            "Doubt I got one anymore." Belle smiled. "This about me an' Rogue?" Gambit immediately grew livid. Belle got angry and stood up.

            "I wasted too much tahm on you, Remy. I'm done with that." She pulled a knife out of her boot and began to finger the blade.

            "Than what's this about, Belle?" She glanced over her shoulder at him.

            "It's Julien." She said. Gambit immediately looked down at the floor again. He felt self centered.

            "Ain't nothin' I can do bout that." Gambit whispered. Belle's eyes flared with rage.

            "No, Remy, you can't, you nevah could. Now I can. So don't open yo' stupid mouth!" She yelled at him. She held the knife over him as if she were going to stab him to death with it. He wasn't afraid of her though.

            "How you gon' raise the dead, chère?" She slowly backed off. She put her foot up on the stool and put her knife back in its hiding place. Then she sat back down. 

            "The tithe, Remy. If I give you t'Candra, She's promised me two vials a the Elixir of Life." Gambit perked up at the name. 

            "That stuff's a myth, Belle. Candra's jus' messin' with you. She gets bored with her life, her immortality, so she messes with you."

            "Remy, what am Ah supposed t'do? He's mon frère." She paused and looked at him." I didn' want any of this either, Remy… Why couln' you take me with you?"

            "The deal, Belle. I left an' yo' family wouln' kill mine… that was th' deal. I couldn' take you from yo' family… not after I took Julien."

            "But I loved you. I loved you with all a mah heart, Remy. An' you left me here to rot and die lahk everyone else who don't get out. You were always th' only on f'r me. When you left, so did mah hope. Now Ah'm just a bitter, angry, killin' machine. Didn' you love me enough t'bring me with you?" Gambit sighed again and looked at her sympathetically. He felt awful and guilty. Belle could read his expression well, they'd grown up together. "You didn't, did you? You didn't love me at all!" She yelled. "But you love her, don't you? You love that dirty mutant!!"

            "Belle." He tried to calm her down. His eyes flashed at her. "Belle, I still thought you had coodies when dey forced us t'marry. I'm still learnin'. Mebbe if--"

            "Mebbe if nothin'." She interrupted him, stopping him dead. "You're lucky Candra wants you alive."

*          *          *

            "Do you recognize anything, Rogue?" Storm asked as she summoned a wind current to carry herself and Psylocke while Rogue flew herself and scanned the humid, swampy, New Orleans landscape.

            "Ah recognize everything… Ah grew—_He_ grew up here."

            "Anything in particular?" Storm narrowed her question.

            "No, not reall—there!' Rogue pointed down and dove for a rooftop. Storm and Psylocke shrugged their shoulders at each other, and Storm brought them down on the roof beside Rogue.

            "This place is heavily guarded. I'd be surprised if we haven't already been spotted." Psylocke said as she scanned the area for minds. 

            "The reception was here." Rogue mumbled. Storm and Psylocke rolled their eyes. "She smelled like vanilla."

            "Rogue, this is not the time to be spiteful--" Storm started, thinking Rogue has stopped them here to get angry.

            "This is her house." Rogue replied indignantly. "They have a room in the basement where they keep prisoners."

            "Oh." Storm replied. "Psylocke, do you sense Gambit?" Psylocke had her eyes closed, searching within the building. Then she opened her eyes, shaking her head.

            "If he's in there, he's a needle in a haystack. Most of them are guarding something, but more than a floor or two down and it's just static. Maybe if we pin one down I could get some answers."

            "Done." Rogue dove off the roof of the building, straight down into someone who had stepped outside for a smoke. The masked assassin cowered, fearing Rogue was falling on him. She grabbed the shoulders of his shirt and flew him up to the roof. She threw him down, skidding to a stop in front of Psylocke. Rogue landed gracefully behind her.

            "Was that really necessary?" Psylocke said over her shoulder, bending down to aid the man.

            "Just do your job, telepath." Rogue retorted coldly.

            "Don't get pissy, I didn't lose him." Psylocke snapped back.

            "Girls!" Storm interrupted just as Rogue was about reply.

            "Sorry." She mumbled honestly instead.

            "Me too." Psylocke murmured. Psylocke sat the man up and pulled off his mask. She sat on her knees in front of him. He was stunned by Rogue's powers and afraid of the others. "_Don't worry, I won't hurt you, just relax._" Psylocke told the man telepathically. She gently placed her hands on his face and closed her eyes to concentrate. Storm and Rogue watched her while the man looked around furiously. Psylocke furrowed her brow to try and focus on the million thoughts racing through the man's head. "Calm down." She said aloud. He looked over at Rogue and she held her fist up at him, threateningly. He forced himself to take several deep breaths. After a minute or two, Psylocke reopened her eyes. "Thank you, Questa," She said to the man, "you've been most helpful." He hand glowed and she quickly extinguished it in the back of his neck. He slumped on the ground as Psylocke stood up. "He' sin there, in the basement, like you said." She addressed Rogue. "He's in there alone with Belladonna, but they're being heavily guarded."

            "You didn't happen to ask how to get in there undetected, did you?" Storm asked.

            "Through the ventilation system." Psylocke pointed to the small vent that opened up onto the roof. "They've been looking for ways to arm it, recently." Storm looked at the small, small opening and began to back away.

            "You two will have to go in without me." Storm said.

            "What?" Psylocke asked. "But your powers are best for when there's only a few of us up against an army… you even things out."

            "Storm's claustrophobic…" Rogue informed her. "Very."

            "I think I can fix that!" Psylocke said. I can project an image into your mind… make it look bigger… how about now?" Storm looked at the opening. She saw a ring representing the passage, but it floated over a large black space. Her quick pulse slowed.

            "I think I can manage that." Storm said apprehensively.

            "Alright." Psylocke shifted her attention as she addressed both Rogue and Storm. The image in the Storm's mind flipped back to reality, stinging her brain. "Sorry." Psylocke said. "It takes a lot of concentration, so we won't be able to communicate. I don't know how long I keep it up."

            "Rogue, you go in first since you'll see thing as they actually are." Storm directed. Rogue nodded. 

            "I'll follow you." Psylocke said to Storm. "Let the image in you mind be my guide." They all agreed as Rogue jumped down into the opening, and then Storm slipped through the ring, followed b Psylocke.        


	16. Chapter 16

I really like this chapter, hope you all do too. Keep those reviews coming, and I'll keep having the incentive to post again. I love you all for all your wonderful reviews and they mean so much to me!!!

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            Psylocke's eyes strained as her brain tried to force more energy out of her to project a vast open space to Storm. Storm grew worried as the reality she saw began to flicker. They had been crawling through the ventilation system of the home base of the assassin's guild for almost half an hour.

            "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up." Psylocke broke down and whispered.

            "Shhhh!" Rogue said from the front of the caravan. She looked through vents in the tunnel into rooms from time to time. "We're almost there… I think." Psylocke began to wince to try to bare more pain, but the pressure on her brain was growing too strong to withstand any longer. She stopped to try and relieve the pain, but could no longer keep claustrophobia away from Storm.

            As the infinite empty space she has been seeing began to vanish, revealing itself to be a small, cramped, dark burrow, Storm's breath grew erratic. Her actions became uncontrollable as she slipped into self preservation mode. Her eyes glowed white and the gentle breeze blowing through the air conditioning grew into a strong gust. Small bolts of lightening began to act as static electricity, shocking Psylocke, Storm and Rogue.

            "Rogue, punch us out!" Psylocke shouted over the rumbling, buzzing and whistling air.

            "But they'll see us!" She yelled back.

            "Rogue, punch us out before she fries us!" Rogue punched her hand through the bottom of the metal tubing, following Psylocke's orders. She kicked the hole open wide enough for each of them to jump out. After Psylocke pushed Storm out of the air shaft, all three landed on the floor. By the time Storm had calmed down enough to stop the weather explosion, several guns were all pointed squarely in their faces.

            "Who're you?" A masked assassin yelled at them. They scrambled for an answer, but when they didn't respond, he shouted again. "Who are you? What are y'all doing here?" When the three didn't answer again, nearly a dozen men in the room cocked their guns.

            "Wait!" Psylocke screamed. "I'm assassin!" They all stopped, waiting for a confirmation to shoot the intruders.

            "You're an assassin?" The leader asked, stunned. Storm and Rogue also waited for an answer. Psylocke nodded. "Prove it." The man demanded. She slightly unzipped the front of her uniform, just enough to pull down the shoulder revealing a tattoo. The second he laid eyes upon it, the lead assassin motioned for the men to lower their guns. "Watch them. I'm goin' ta talk ta Belle." He left through a door into the next room. The others all put their guns back up, keeping Rogue, Storm and Psylocke in order.

            "You're an assassin?" Rogue asked.

            "Yes, do enlighten us, please." Storm mumbled.

            "It's a long story." Psylocke said as she eyed the long barrel pointed in her face.

*          *          *

            "Belle, I hate to interrupt…" Gris-Gris burst into the room with Gambit and Belladonna. She glared up at him.

            "You really gonna hate it in a minute… What's goin' on out there?" She barked.

            "Some people broke in… trois femmes." He informed her. Gambit's eyes flashed as he allowed a short smile to curl the corner of his lips. He knew his cavalry had arrived.

            "Who are they? Thieves tryin' t' take mah tithe?" 

            "Not sure, maîtresse… one of them has the tat of la main." Belle's expression changed from anger to confusion.

            "La main? On dis side a the Pacific?" She shot a look back at Gambit and saw his smile. He dropped it, but she'd already caught him. "What're you smilin' at, Remy?" He shrugged his shoulders then smiled wickedly. She huffed then turned back to Gris-Gris. "Alright, bring 'em in." Gris-Gris nodded and left the room.

            "You got The Hand afta you, Belle? You in it deep, now." Gambit mocked her.

            "Shut up, Remy, I know you got somethin' t' do with this." His eyes flashed as he sneered at her. Gris-Gris and several henchmen bust back into the room with Psylocke, Storm and Rogue. "Let me see it." Belle said to Psylocke, dragging her cherished knife across Psylocke's face. Psylocke pulled away, unintimidated, and revealed the tattoo on her shoulder. Belle admired it for a minute, then looked back up at Psylocke's face. "What're you doin' here?" Belle said when she was satisfied with the evidence. "I ain't got no business with The Hand."

            "No." Psylocke finally spoke. "You have business with me, the leader of The Hand's personal assassin."

            "And what business is that… Kwannon?" Belle displayed her knowledge of the over seas crime organization by identifying the person Psylocke said she was.

            "That there is _mah_ Cajun." Rogue answered for her, gesturing toward Gambit. He sighed at the fact she hadn't just ignored him all together. Belle put her hands on her hips and looked at Gambit, then back to Psylocke, Storm and Rogue.

            "Kill them." Belle coldly ordered the men in the room. The seven henchmen descended on the X-Men. One man each held one of Psylocke's arms, and one man kept hitting her in the stomach with the butt of a rifle. She was defenseless, still working up the mental strength to provide a useful psionic knife. After having the wind knocked out of her several times now, Psylocke instinctively decided she could take no more. Soon, they would bruise an organ or cause serious internal damage. She slammed the heel of her foot down on the instep of one of the assassins holding her arm. He released her, nursing a newly broken foot. With one swift motion, she swung her free hand up, smacking the heel of her palm into the nose of the man who'd been hitting her in the stomach. He recoiled with a broken nose. She grabbed the collar of the other man and flung him across the ground, knocking his head against the wall where it met the floor, causing him to fall unconcious.

            Storm was quickly able to summon lightening to her aid, striking each guard trying to hold her. They fell to the ground and released Storm. She went to work creating a hail storm to keep anyone else from entering the room.

            Rogue used her super strength to fling the two assassins holding her back against the opposite wall. She moved forward to release Gambit, but was quickly impeded by Belle.

            "You must be the mutant girlfriend." Belle said.

            "You must be the ex-wife I ain't heard so much about." Rogue replied, glaring over Belle's shoulder at Gambit. Belle let herself smile just a bit, but then pushed Rogue back. Rogue raised her fist to punch Belle.

            "Don't hurt her!" Gambit interrupted. Rogue was surprised he was concerned enough about her to try and protect her. Since Rogue was distracted, Belle knocked Rogue's feet out from under her, knocking her to the ground. Belle pinned her down and raised her knife to stab Rogue.

            "Actually, we're still married… and he's always gon' be _mah_ Cajun." Belle said as she drew her knife back.

            "Do it!" Rogue yelled at her. She wanted to see the look on Belle's face when she discovered Rogue's invulnerability, but she suddenly went limp, Psylocke standing over her. "Guess your mind's regenerated?" Rogue grumbled as she pushed Belle's lifeless body off of her.

            "Apparently. We need you to make us a door." Psylocke said, helping Rogue up. Storm untied Gambit's restraints. Rogue knocked a large hole in the brick wall, and they all escaped.

*          *          *   

            "So I'm your Cajun, still?" Remy asked seductively into Rogue's ear as they walked down the hallway. She turned around, flashing him a look of utter hatred and viciousness. She stopped and raised her first as if she were going to knock him into next Tuesday, then had a change of heart.

            "Just leave me alone." She muttered, on the verge of tears.

            "Rogue, I--"

            "Please, just leave me alone." She didn't yell or raise her voice in the slightest. She went into her room and shut the door in his face. Betsy shrugged her shoulders at him as she walked past, and into the room she and Jean shared. As the she opened the door, Jean glared at her and Kitty, sitting on Betsy's bed, decided to be the ambassador.

            "How'd it go?" Kitty asked, stopping Betsy in the doorway. Betsy looked around the room in confusion. All of her things had disappeared.

            "We won…" she mumbled. "Where's my--"

            "I hope you don't mind, you and me switched rooms." Kitty finally addressed Betsy's confusion.

            "We did?"

            "Yeah, Logan said it would be best of you and Jean didn't share a room. And I never really bonded with Rogue… y'know?" Betsy nodded blankly, still looking around the room.

            "Wow. I'm sorry to kick you out." Betsy said.

            "Well, actually, Jean, like, threw _you_ out." Kitty whispered to her. Betsy nodded again.

            "So you moved all my things for me?" Kitty nodded.

            "Thanks." Betsy said.

            "How's Rogue?" Kitty finally asked. 

            "I dunno. She's only spoken to ask Remy to leave her alone. She didn't order him or anything." Kitty's eyes got wide.

            "Wow, she must be _pissed_." Kitty said in awe. Betsy just nodded.

            "I guess I better go check on here." Kitty waved her good bye as Betsy walked back down the hallway. Remy was sitting on the floor against the wall outside Rogue's door. "Hey, Remy, guess what! I live her now!" He just smiled at her sarcastically, like she was a small child that just drew an ugly picture.

            "Nice." He said humoring her. She got serious when he wasn't happy for her. 

            "You ballsed up, Remy." He sighed as he knocked the back of his head against the wall.

            "I know." She stared at him as he looked up to the ceiling. "I jus' wanna talk to her." He pleaded with Betsy.

            "I'm not getting involved." She said as she shook her head.

            "But she'll listen to you." Remy whined like a puppy dog. She took one look into his red and black eyes, and her nurturing side kicked in.

            "I'll see what I can do." She sighed. His face lit up.

            "That's all I ask." He hugged her legs and kissed the toe of her shoe then let her go in the room. She patted the top of his head as she shut the door.

            "I live here now!" Betsy announced, walking into her new room. Rogue nodded as she sobbed, curled up on her bed. Betsy sat down on the bed next to her and Rogue laid her head on Betsy's shoulder. "He's out there." Betsy calmly informed her.

            "Make him go away." Rogue whimpered through her tears.  

            "You know this is foolish."

            "Just make him go away, please? He'll listen to you." Betsy couldn't help but smile. She knew Rogue and Remy belonged together, but not just because they said the same things as if they had a mental connection. Betsy stood up and walked back out of her room. Remy jumped up as she came back into the hallway, but upon relalizing it wasn't Rogue, he looked back to the floor.

            "Not what you were expecting?" She chided him. He looked back up at her. He didn't have to say anything and Betsy knew what he wanted to hear. Unfortunately, she had to tell him the truth. "She's real messed up, Remy." He knew that meant, "go away." He looked at the floor again, defeated.

            "I have to talk to her." He said.

            "Not now." Betsy tried to get the message through to him, but he didn't seem to care.

            "But I--"

            "Remy," She interrupted him. "You must be diein' for a fag. Go have a smoke." This time, he got the message. It hit him harder than Betsy expected. "Come back… just wait a while."

            "It's okay. I understand." He said, even though he didn't.

            "Remy, your destiny only fails when you accept it, and refuse to fight for it." She tried to get him to be his normal, arrogantly persistent self, but this was different.

            "What do you mean, 'destiny'?" That word caught his attention as he quit walking down the hall.

            "You and Rogue. You're going to die together, and you're going to live on together. It's a fact." She clarified.

            "A fact?" He contested.

            "Have my visions ever been wrong?"

            "You had a vision 'bout me an' Rogue?" He was intrigued. Betsy shook her head.

            "Your eyes, Remy, they're exact compliments: red and green, black and white. It's as if you've been walking around your whole lives with jagged holes in you the same shape as the other person." She paused a moment to let her words sink in. He pondered carefully. "Just stay away for a while." She summarized.

            "Stay away? Am I supposed t' fight or not?" He grew bitter.

            "You know I can't tell you that." She honestly didn't know the answer.

            "This is ridiculous." He said. "It shouldn' be this hard, not if it's meant t'be."

            "Remy, you did the one thing you knew could crush her. You lied. You betrayed her."

            "An' what about me? Don' I deserve the same respect?"

            "What are you talking about?" Betsy was confused and frustrated.

            "She never tol' me how much Illyana's death meant to her. She never mentioned it at all."

            "She didn't?" Betsy was surprised.

            "If she wants t'talk, I'll be on the roof."

            "You can't just give up."

            "An' I shouldn' be the one t'fix everyt'ing."

            "If you're going to play a 'stubborn contest' with Rogue, you're going to lose."

            "My cards're showin'. It's up t'her now." Betsy just stared at him in amazement at his utter remiss behavior as he disappeared down the hall.

            "She's made you feel like you deserve better, eh? I was wondering what it would take!" She shouted after him. He just ignored her.

*          *          *

            When Betsy went back into her room, Rogue had stopped crying. She sat on the bed with her knees up to her chest under her chin. She just stared at the wall. Betsy was worried.

            "Rogue, are you alright?"

            "Ah'm fine." Betsy watched Rogue for a moment. When she didn't blink after a while, Betsy's concern grew into fear.

            "Rogue?" Rogue looked up at Betsy with ferocity. It made Betsy jump back.

            "Ah knew Ah shouln' love anyone. Ah knew it. Ah thought he was different. But he's just like everyone else."

            "That's not true."

            "Yes it is. Ah don' wanna have any secrets between us, me an' him, an' he knew that!"

            "Then why didn't you tell him how much Illyana meant to you?" Rogue looked at her surprised. She didn't know how Betsy knew what she'd done.

            "That's diff'rent."

            "Why? Because it's you and not him? Rogue, this 'openness' thing is as new to him as it is to you. If you want him to take risks that leave him completely exposed and vulnerable, then you have to also." Rogue scowled at Betsy. This is not what she wanted to hear. Betsy sat cross legged on the floor in front of Rogue.

            "So you're sayin' _Ah_ should apologize?"

            "Yes." Betsy replied.

            "Whose side are you on?" Rogue grew angry with her.

            "Both. Of course he should apologize too. The only thing you two are being stupid and stubborn over is who should approach who first. You're gettin' on my nerves." Rogue laid down the bed facing the wall away from Betsy, showing her disgust in Betsy's response. "Aren't you the vindictive one."

            "Oh, so now you're goin' to insult me?" Rogue turned over in the bed to watch Betsy as she looked for where Kitty had put her PJs. Betsy sighed and looked back at Rogue.

            "Well I'm not going to feel sorry for you." Rogue glared at her again, then rolled back over. "Your whole life people have felt sorry for you because you've never had any control, well now you do. You have the power to fix this whole situation and make yourself happy again, but you refuse to because it's so much harder to suck up your pride and talk to him first than it is to just feel angry." Rogue didn't respond but Betsy sensed Rogue knew she was right and hated it.

*          *          *

            Remy opened the door to his room to find a furious Nightcrawler waiting to attack him.

            "Vas she your vife?" Kurt snarled. Remy walked past him and began searching through is dresser drawers.

            "Oui." He mumbled coldly over his shoulder.

            "I know many languages, but French is not one of them." Kurt turned to face him and crossed his arms. He knew what Remy said, but he was livid.

            "Yes." Remy asserted He pulled a fresh pack of cigarettes out his drawer.

            "You'd better not come near me, or I'll teleport different parts of your body to different places." Kurt threatened.

            "You don' know how t'do that."

            "I'll learn."  Remy's eyes flashed at Kurt as he slipped out of the bedroom window. He climbed to the roof and smoked his cigarette in silence. He didn't even think about anything, just the toxic smoke filling his lungs. Hoping it would hurry up and kill him.

            "My my, how quickly they turn on you." Remy turned his head to see where the voice had come from, His only wish in the world right now was to be alone. He couldn't even have that. He was afraid he knew whose voice had called to him. He saw nothing but a tall dark shadow, and two burning red eyes, more vivid than his own.

            "You did this." Remy deduced.

            "No, Mr. LeBeau." The man's chilling voice spoke. "You did this to yourself. I merely set events on their course." Remy turned back to his cigarette. His heart filled with hate and guilt. "And I set the sentinel loose in the mall."

            "Why?" Remy hadn't thought about the sentinel in a while.

            "I simply wanted to test the limits Rogue's powers… rather interesting results, I must say."

            "What about Belle and Candra?"

            "Your little sweetheart is merely a flatscan… static, and thus she is of no importance to me. I offered the external the famed Elixir of Life as well as monetary compensation if she brought you to me. And she failed." Remy was surprised at his response.

            "Whadda you want with me, Sinister?" The wicked man's yellow fanged teeth glowed as he smiled.

            "I have a favor to ask of you, Mr. LeBeau." Remy was still unimpressed as he took another drag on his cigarette.

            "Why would I wanna work f'r you?"

            "Because I have something you want."

            "What's dat?" Sinister said nothing as he revealed a small black vial between his index finger and thumb. Remy nearly chocked to death on the smoke in his throat as his jaw dropped when he saw it. "What is that?"

            "You know what it is, Gambit." He did know, but he wanted to confirm it.

            "That only means what I make it." Remy said, keeping his eyes glued to the vial.

            "That's true, but you decided on that a long time ago." Remy broke his gaze by looking up at Sinister's eyes. His heart battled with his mind to shake his head.

            "No. It's not worth all a dis." Remy finally said.

            "Alright Mr. LeBeau…" Sinister said through gritted teeth, ending his smile. "Name your price."

            "You can't afford me." Remy said as he put out his cigarette on the roof.

            "I will get what I want Gambit, I'm only giving you the opportunity to claim something in return."

            "You better get outta here b'fore mansion security picks up on you." Remy warned him, mockingly.

            "Don't toy with me. I know you come up here to smoke because security doesn't reach up here. Now, I'm growing impatient… every man has his price to charge, Gambit, name yours." He said.

            "Anything I ask, and you'll give it t'me?" Remy finally considered his offer.

            "So long as you perform a few tasks for me in return." Remy pondered for a moment. He knew Sinister wouldn't tell him what he needed done until Remy agreed to do it. He considered what the worst thing he could was, and what was important to receive.

            "You have t'promise t'leave me alone… forever… once this is through." Sinister smiled again.

            "As you wish."

            "And anyone I care about. You leave me, the X-Men, de guilds – both of 'em – even the brotherhood, leave 'em alone. I don' ever wanna feel yo' slimy presence long as I live."

            "An honorable request."

            "Not a request, a _demand_." Remy corrected him. Sinister bowed his head, solidifying the terms of their agreement. Remy stood up and snatched the vial. "What do I have t'do?" Sinister smiled and chuckled manically.  


	17. Chapter 17

Here's another great chappy for all my avid fans. I love you all!! I think this is a really cool chapter cause it's one of my favorite things from the comics. I just hope I could do it justice (Except I suck at writing fight scenes.) Very interesting plot twists ahead! Thanks for reading, and thanks so much more for reviewing. I've you've ever written a fic, you know how good it feels to get a bunch of reviews and important it is to how you look at the story and how you write it. Well, not that that's said and done… READ AND **REVIEW**!! Happy Yom Kippur to all the Jew Crew out there. Eat a good break-fast.

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            "C'mon, Rogue. You have to get up. It's time for school." Betsy shook Rogue in the bed. Betsy was already dressed and ready to go.

            "Have you found Remy yet?" Rogue moaned as if she were on the brink of death.

            "Jean's been on cerebro all day everyday for the last two weeks, and myself all night. If we'd found him, you would have been the first to know."

            "Can't you call the professor?" Betsy sighed, repeating the conversation again same as they had every morning since Remy had disappeared.

            "He's with Peter's family, have some respect. He said not to contact him unless it's a life or death situation." Rogue looked up at her with the saddest kitten eyes. Betsy was unmoved as she as used to this routine. "He stole Logan's bike, so we know he went of his own accord and he hasn't used his powers in over two weeks. He doesn't seem to want to be found." Rogue groaned and rolled back over in bed. "Are you alright?" Betsy finally addressed Rogue's sickly condition.

            "No." She whined. Betsy reached a hand around to her forehead, but then remembered not to touch Rogue's skin, and recoiled.

            "I'll go get a thermometer." Rogue nodded and Betsy disappeared. She came back moments later and put the thermometer under Rogue's tongue. When it beeped less than a minute later, Betsy removed it and analyzed it. "98.6… is that normal?" Rogue looked at her as if she were crazy. "I'm _British." Betsy explained. "I know in Celsius 37 degrees is normal. Is 98.6 normal in Fahrenheit?" Rogue nodded._

            "Ah feel like Ah'm gonna die… like I was clubbed over the head and then trampled on." Betsy's eyes got wide.

            "Are you sure it's not your 7th sense?" Rogue grew confused.

            "Why?"

            "I had a dream… moles were running around underground and monsters came down to club them over the head, then trampled on them, killing them all."

            "What? Like a precognitive vision?" Betsy thought for a moment then shook her head.

            "No, it's probably just a coincidence. I haven't had a vision in a long time, doubt I'd start now." She slung her book bag over her shoulder. "I'll tell Ororo you're staying home. You sure picked a good day to get deathly ill… she and Logan are going to get a new bike." Betsy left the room to get a ride with Kurt to school. Rogue rolled over and cringed as she felt her head being crushed in. She felt a rush of air, like a tornado, then felt sharp pricks all over her body. She felt dizzy and nauseous as claws ripped at her sides. The whole time she was in the dark.

*          *          * 

            Callisto paced back and forth the width of the Alley, the main tunnel and home of the Morlocks. The instant she heard someone traipsing through the sewer water, much farther than any normal person could hear, she stood at attention.

            "Where have you been?" She barked at Spyke as he came into view.

            "I just went to get some necessities, chill Cal."

            "What took you so long?" He looked at the ground and put a hand on the bone plate on his shoulder.

            "I had to go to three stores before they would let me in." Callisto grumbled and snatched the grocery bag in his hand and began to rifle through it.

            "What's this?" She held up a Cinderella coloring book and a box of crayons. 

            "They're for Torpid. She likes 'em." Spyke snatched the items back and put them in the bag.

            "She's getting the wrong idea from those things."

            "She's not any different from any other little girl, let her pretend there's a 'happily ever after' for a little while, okay?" Callisto huffed as he walked away. 

            "You know, last time, you had to go to five stores before they sold you milk." She relented.

            "See, maybe it's getting better topside." She couldn't help but crack a smile at his idealism. As he walked away he passed Caliban walking toward Callisto. "Hey, man." Spyke said. Caliban ignored him. "Whatever." Then he went on his way.

            "Callisto… intruders…" Caliban hissed with his slimy, scaly voice.

            "How many?" She was surprised. Callisto was very rarely caught off guard.

            "Six… one is afraid."

            "That's all?" She asked. The Morlocks numbers outranked the trespassers by about 10:1. Six seemed like nothing.

            "That's all we need." A female voice called from behind Callisto.

            "I only see five." Callisto said as she snapped around.

            "That wuss got cold feet. Never could understand what the boss saw in him… but his job's over with anyhow."

            "Job? What do you want with us? We aren't bothering anybody." Callisto demanded.

            "We want you mutant mistakes to quit polluting our gene pool."

            "Vertigo, quit talkin' and get to slaughterin'," said one of the men who stood at her side.

            "As you wish, Riptide." She replied. The intruders all moved forward, surrounding Callisto and Caliban.

            "You won't be slaughtering anyone." Callisto held a strong fighting stance.

            "Your quick reflexes won't be of any help to you, Morlock." As Vertigo spoke Callisto grew dizzy and she and Caliban fell to the ground. One of the enemies pulled a large spear out of the pack on his back. He raised it to stab Callisto, but was suddenly pinned back to the wall of the tunnel.

            "Who are you?" Spyke called out. He now had a few friends at his side to defend his home.

            "We're the Marauders, gene trash." Harpoon, the man with the spears shouted at him as he tried to wriggle himself free.

            "You think _those_ bone spurs are somethin', do ya?" Riptide threw himself into a tornado like spin. Before anyone could react, spiked, spinning disks called shurikens flew out from his body. They ripped right through the Morlocks Masque and Erg, killing them both instantly. They passed through Ape as he used his mutant ability to create holes in his body allowing the shurikens to slip through. Tarbaby trapped them in the thick, sticky ooze he secreted from his body. Harpoon, however, having freed himself from Spyke's restraints, stabbed Tarbaby from behind with one of his spears, killing him. The Marauders moved on to find more Morlocks. Caliban, Ape, and Spyke all rushed to Callisto's side. As they passed, Spyke recognized one of the Marauders.

            "Sabretooth?" Spyke called out in surprise. He stopped at the familiar face.

            "I'm gonna have fun with you, porcupine." Out of instinct, Spyke released a layer of bone spurs that covered his back.

            "Please, he's not worth it. We'll come back for him." The only Marauder left to be identified put a hand on Sabretooth's shoulder. Sabretooth shook him off.

            "You got your orders, I got mine, Scrambler." Sabretooth snarled at Spyke then left with the other Marauders. Spyke watched them as they disappeared down the Alley.

            "Cal, we need help."  Spyke said.

            "No." She groaned, regaining her equilibrium. "We out number them greatly. We can defend ourselves."

            "Most of us aren't trained to fight. They just killed Erg, Tarbaby and Masque in less than five seconds." Callisto was forced to ponder his words.

            "Caliban, go get X-Man Storm. Tell her what's going on. Make sure she knows her nephew is fighting for his life." Caliban nodded and began to climb a ladder to the storm drain above.

            "What about me, Cal?" Spyke asked her as she pushed him away, demanding to stand up on her own.

            "You are better trained than most. You must stay and fight."

*          *          *  

            Rogue fought the agonizing pain she felt to go the kitchen for a glass of orange juice. No one was home, and she seriously began to consider the idea that the quiet and solitude was worth it. She looked through the refrigerator for the juice and anything else that might make her feel better. When the stress got to be too much for her to keep looking, she pulled out the carton and shut the door. She poured her juice and sipped it quickly. She felt a familiar, comforting sting as the citric acid slid down her throat. Then she felt a sharp sudden pain in her chest. She finished off her glass before she put her hand up to nurse it.

            "X-Man." A serpentine voice called out to her. It scared her so much; she dropped her glass in the sink she stood over, and choked on the liquid in her throat.

            "Don't come any closer!" She finally spat.

            "Do not be afraid." Caliban hissed from his perch atop the kitchen table. He'd obviously come in through the open window. "We require your assistance."

            "Assistance?" Rogue asked for clarification.

            "I must speak with the X-Man Storm." He ignored her request

            "She isn't here." Rogue said apprehensively.

            "I know… I always know. Bring her here." Rogue nodded as she picked up the phone on the wall next to the door frame.

            "What should I tell her?" She asked.

            "Morlock… massacre."

*          *          *

              Betsy doodled in her notebook during the interminably long math class. She looked over at Kurt who was trying hard to pay attention, but the boredom was overwhelming.

            "_Hey, Betsy." Kurt's voice penetrated her mind. His face showed nothing. "_Hey, Betsy, let's play a word game._"_

            "_Like what?" She smiled to herself. They both jumped when the alarms on their wrist communicators went off simultaneously._

            "Betsy, Kurt, I'll have to ask you to turn those off." The teacher asked them.

            "Just a sec." Betsy said as she leaned over to Kurt. "What does that color mean?" She referred to the green blinking 'X'.

            "I'm not sure; we've never had that call before."

            "How d'you shut it off?" She punched random buttons, but nothing seemed to work. Kurt did the same, ignoring the entire class staring at them.

            "I don't know. It von't let me. It must be an emergency."

            "Miss Braddock, Mr. Wagner?" the teacher was impatient.

            "We need to be excused." Betsy finally said.

            "I'm afraid I can't allow it." The teacher said.

            "But it's an emergency." Kurt said.

            "I'm sure it is." The teacher rolled her eyes, returning to the black board.

            "No really, it is. We have to go." Betsy pleaded.

            "If you leave my classroom, you'll be given detention for skipping." She threatened.

            "Fine." Kurt said as he grabbed Betsy's hand.

*BAMF!*

            They left the kids in the room coughing and wafting away black smoke.

*BAMF!*

            They reappeared in the middle of the hallway. Kitty was at her locker as well as all of the new recruits.

            "Did you guys get the same message?" Kitty asked as they convened in a circle and comparing the alarm on their watches, still beeping.

            "Ya, ve can't shut it off." Kurt said.

            "What does it mean?" Sam asked.

            "I know what it means." Bobby said. "It means someone's died."

*          *          *  

            "Scott, it can't mean what I think it does." Jean said into her cell phone as she walked from the Sciences building of campus to her silver SUV. 

            "I'm afraid it might. I'm on my way back, now." Scott replied.

            "I feel kind of awful…" Jean said.

            "Why? We don't even know what it is yet."

            "I know." She shut the car door and locked in her seat belt, one handed. "But I feel awful cause I had to take an F on this test I was in the middle of. If someone hasn't actually died…"

            "No one would pull this joke on us. I don't even think most of the students know what it means."

            "Have you called Storm?"

            "I tried. The phone's busy. I'm almost home; I'll let you know what I find out." She was silent for a moment.

            "Be safe, Scott."

            "I will."

*          *          *

            Everyone managed to arrive home around the same time. Rogue, Storm, Logan and Caliban were all waiting on the front steps.

            "Where have you been? We've been trying to call the professor but no answer." Storm shouted at them.

            "Whoa, calm down Storm; just tell us what's wrong." Scott argued with the frantic woman.

            "The Morlocks… Evan…" She stuttered.

            "Caliban here, says there's some pretty bad mutants in the Morlock tunnels, just knockin' 'em down, takin' no prisoners, havin' no mercy." Logan interpreted. Betsy looked at Rogue.

            "It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?" Betsy asked rogue.

            "No." She said. She hadn't noticed the pain had stopped. She calculated in her mind what it all meant. "Moles… underground…" she muttered.

            "You two knew about this?!" Storm yelled at them.

            "No." Betsy said. "We have to find them. They won't stop until they're all dead."

*          *          *

            Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Jean, Psylocke and Caliban walked carefully through the Alley, trying hard to not step on the dead bodies scattered throughout the underground lair. 

            "Any survivors?" Cyclops asked Psylocke and Jean who were scanning the area psionically for living minds.

            "Not here." Jean answered.

            "There." Caliban pointed down a dark tunnel.

            "He must be weak, I don't feel anything." Psylocke contested.

            "He's afraid…" Caliban expounded. Logan sniffed the air and cringed.

            "Sabretooth…" he snarled. "And a Nasty Boy… three others."

            "A Nasty Boy? Which one?" Psylocke gritted her teeth.

            "Vertigo…" Caliban hissed.

            "This is personal." Psylocke retorted at the name.

            "Tell me about it." Wolverine grumbled with her.

            "Oh no…" Storm murmured as she plucked a spike up off the ground. It was spotted with blood. "We have to do something." She cried.

            "The weak signal, where is it?" Cyclops demanded from Caliban.

            "This way." He said. They followed him down the tunnel he had pointed to earlier. Wolverine could smell Sabretooth again and split off from the group to follow his trail. Caliban led them quickly until they could hear a faint wheezing. Then they treaded slower. "Spyke." Caliban confirmed his presence.

            "Evan!" Storm shouted. "Evan, are you alright?"

            "Auntie O?" He forced out meekly. Psylocke raised her hand and let it glow, illuminating the dark cavern a pinkish-purple. "Don't come near me!" He warned.

            "Evan, we want to help you." Storm pleaded.

            "No! I don't want you to get hurt. Go stop them."

            "Evan, what's wrong?"

            "Auntie O, stop." They had inched close enough to see his face in the dim light. "My powers… they're out of whack." 

            "What happened?" Jean asked him.

            "Marauders… Scrambler… he did this." They all took a few steps closer. "I said stop!" he raised his hand and three spikes flew out of his wrist, pinning Caliban back against the wall. "I'm sorry." He fought for air.

            "Stay calm, Daniels. We're gonna get you back to the mansion--"

            "I'm lethal." Spyke interrupted Cyclops. "Just go stop them."

            "We aren't leaving you behind." Cyclops repeated.

            "I could knock him out till we get him back to the med lab." Psylocke offered. Cyclops nodded and she calmly moved closer to Spyke. 

            "What are you doing?" Spyke barked at her. He was too nervous to sit up. "Who are you?" he finally asked.

            "I'm Psylocke. I'm just going to knock you out so you won't hurt anybody. It might sting for a moment." She crouched down behind him and lightly placed a hand on his prickly back. He was too weak to resist anymore. He nodded as he fought for air and she extinguished the makeshift lantern in the back of his neck.

*          *          *  

            The sewer water reeked of flesh and was tinged red with blood. Wolverine never let the tension of the situation overcome his animal instincts to find and kill Sabretooth. He was, however, reluctantly distracted by the scent of survivors.

            "Is there anyone down here?" He called out.

            "Don't hurt me!" He heard a girl shriek from the end of the tunnel.

            "I'm not a Marauder." He said as he walked closer to the girl. "Are you alright? Is there anyone with you?"

            "If you're not a Marauder, who are you?" She backed away as he approached her.

            "I'm an X-Man… we want to help you. Callisto sent for us." She stood stronger now, less afraid.

            "X-Men? Callisto spits on your name." She contested. "But if you can help…"

            "Are you alright? You look weak."

            "It's Tommy. I've been trying to heal her. One of them threw a harpoon and it caused a cave in." She said, pointing to the blockade behind her. Wolverine was surprised to find he was not at the end of the tunnel. "If I can heal Tommy, she can slip through a crack and help rescue those trapped behind." Wolverine crouched down to check for a pulse on the paper thin girl on the ground, crushed beneath the rubble. He looked up at the Morlock and shook his head. Tommy was dead. "No, I can heal her!"

            "No, you can't. You'll burn yourself out and you won't be any good to anyone. I'll call my friends over and we'll get the people who are trapped out." The healer nodded as Wolverine pressed a button his communicator. "Cyke, I found a bunch of survivors trapped behind a cave in."

            "We're on our way." Cyclops sad back.

            "Rogue, we could use some muscle and transport."

            "We'll be there in a sec." Rogue replied.

*BAMF!*

            Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Rogue teleported in.

            "Watch where you're portin', Nightcrawler." Kurt was confused at Wolverine's sudden use of his real name. They all looked down and for the first time witnessed the carnage all around.

            "My God… I didn't realize…" Nightcrawler mumbled.

            "I think I'm gonna be sick." Shadowcat said running back down the passageway. As she turned the corner, she was met by the other half of the team.

            "Shadowcat, where are the survivors?" Cyclops demanded. She pointed back in the direction she'd come from.

            "C'mon, Kitty, you'll be okay, just focus on the mission." Jean said as they walked to join Wolverine.

            "How many trapped?" Cyclops asked Caliban.

            "Eleven." He answered.

            "I saw more than that… are you sure?" The healer asked.

            "Eleven alive." He confirmed.

            "Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, you two get back there are start bringing people out. Rogue and Wolverine, you guys and I will start pulling rocks out of the way. Storm, Jean and Psylocke, you guys take Evan, the healer, and Caliban back to mansion, set up the infirmary." Cyclops directed as everyone branched off to perform their various tasks.

            "I don't think the X-Men will be going anywhere." They all heard from the entrance of the tunnel.

            "What do you want, Vertigo?" Psylocke snarled through gritted teeth.

            "Oh, Psylocke… it's so nice to see you again. The good doctor sends his regards." Vertigo smiled arrogantly.

            "Is that who you're doing this for?" Psylocke shouted at her.

            "I admit to nothing. And I work for whoever pays me to fight." Riptide began spinning in front of the group and throwing his shurikens. Jean had to quickly throw up a telekinetic shield to protect them all. She accidentally dropped Spyke who she'd been carrying behind her since they found him, because he was too spiky to hold.

            "Hey, watch the porcupine." Wolverine grumbled as Harpoon tried piercing her psi-bubble with his bio-energy altered slayspears.

            "Let me out." Storm ordered. Jean managed to fold back a corner of the shield and Storm flew out. She conjured a whirlpool to attempt to overcome Riptide. Instead, it simply made his shurikens fly faster and more erratically. Harpoon tried to knock her down with his weapons, but she evaded him deftly, his spears embedding themselves in the already unstable tunnel ceiling. Cyclops and Rogue worked to deflect them as bricks began to give way while Nightcrawler and Shadowcat brought people out from behind the previous cave in. Scrambler looked at Psylocke and smiled menacingly then pointed a finger up at Storm.

            "Jean!" Psylocke tried to warn her as she was the only one who could help Storm. Jean had to let the shield down to throw Scrambler back against the wall. Some of Riptide's shurikens made it through while the bubble was down, bouncing off Rogue, grazing Betsy's leg, nipping the tips of Kitty's ponytail, and embedding itself in Wolverine's shoulder as he dove to protect Caliban and Healer. He ripped it out and felt it heal. 

*BAMF!*

            Nightcrawler reappeared with another Morlock from behind the wall.

            "Cyclops, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I can only teleport one at a time, now."

            "Okay." He said, blasting a piece of rubble as it fell from the ceiling. "Start teleporting them back to the med lab." Nightcrawler nodded. 

*BAMF!*

            As scrambler recovered, Vertigo decided to help with Storm.

            "You couldn't save your nephew, Ororo, and you can't save anyone else. I just hope you can get out of here before the ceiling falls and buries you alive." Vertigo didn't need her power to make Storm dizzy and nauseous, but it helped. Storm started to fall and Jean was forced to expend more energy to catch her. The rubble and rocks from the ceiling grew into boulders and began to fall faster. Rogue and Cyclops were having trouble holding back another cave in all by themselves. The debris began to slow as it tumbled toward the ground. Jean was crouched in the sewer water, trying to divert the energy it took to stand to her mind to save her friends. She began to hold all four of the present Marauders back against the wall as a second wind of sorts, came over her. Suddenly, an eerie shrieking sound could be heard from the topside. It triggered something in Psylocke's brain.

            "This is how it happens…" she mumbled to herself as she tended to the wounded Shadowcat and Nightcrawler brought out.

            "Betsy, get Spyke and whoever else you can and Rogue'll take you back to the mansion." Cyclops ordered.

            "No, I want to see it." She mumbled, engrossed in the events before her. She didn't speak loud as she didn't expect anyone to understand her.

            "Sorry, Betts, we're takin' off." Rogue grabbed Psylocke and Spyke while Cyclops blew open a hole to the topside. Rogue placed both Spyke and Psylocke in the middle of the street, and pushed cars back away from the opening. Psylocke dragged Spyke on to the side walk as another piercing scream came down from the heavens. Shadowcat phased up through the ground with three Morlocks. Wolverine crawled up through the hole with Storm. 

            "That's everyone." Shadowcat shouted. "Except for Scott and Jean."

            "Rogue, go get 'em." Wolverine shouted at her.

            "No!" Psylocke screamed at her. "Get Cyclops but don't touch Jean."

            "Ah know ya'll got some kinda rivalry goin' on Betts, but--"

            "No, you don't understand. If you go after both Scott and Jean you won't have time and you'll all die. Jean will be fine, just get Cyclops out." Rogue listened to her, but reacted purely on instinct. She flew down the hole and saw Cyclops yelling at Jean.

            "C'mon, Jean! We have to get out of here!"

            "No, go… I can't hold it much longer." Jean cringed under the pressure.

            "Let's go, Cyke!" Rogue yelled at him over the rumbling of the tunnel.

            "No, I'm not leaving without Jean!"

            "I'll come back for her!" Rogue pleaded with him to get out the soon to be rock pile.

            "No, I'm not going without her!"

            "Scott, go!" Jean ordered him as she began to lose her grip on the ceiling, letting the biggest boulders as well as some small rocks fall to the ground.

            "Sorry, Cyke, I ain't givin' you a choice." Rogue grabbed Cyclops's arm and pulled him up through the hole. Just as they cleared daylight, the tunnel began to give way. The team outside all tumbled as a seismic wave could be felt snaking across the ground. Barely anyone but Psylocke noticed a large yellow/orange glow like fire fly down from the sky into the ground below them. Just then, they had entered the eye of the storm as an eerie calm and quiet overtook the area. The X-Men struggled for an understanding of what had just happened, the growing crowd of bystanders even more clueless.

            "Okay, I'm ready to come back for more survivors." Kurt said over Wolverine's comm-link, breaking the awkward silence.

            "Hold up, elf--" he said back as the Earth resettled itself. "There's no where for you to 'port to."

            "Jean?" Scott said as he jumped to his feet. "Jean?" He called out again. No one dared interrupt him.

            "No." Betsy said in disbelief. "But she's the--... it just--…"

            "I don't feel anything!" Scott shouted He turned to Caliban at Shadowcat's side. "Is she there? Can she… Is she there?" Caliban shook his head.

            "There is nothing." He answered truthfully.

            "Ah thought you said…" Rogue looked at Betsy as Betsy looked at the ground. "Ah coulda…"

            "No." Betsy mumbled again. "But the Phoenix… it had to be."

            "Look, Betts, Ah never cared for her much either, but this--" Just as Rogue began to speak, a bright orange beam broke through the ground. Betsy smiled as she saw it, everyone else stepped back.  Jean emerged from the hole, encased in the light. She was empty, her eyes were vacant.

            "Jean!" Scott shouted at her as she hovered in the air. She looked down at him with her vacuous eyes, then propelled herself upwards into the sky. She flew until she disappeared. "Jean?" Scott shouted again. "Where did she…?"

            "Betsy, go back to the mansion. You keep security and check the tunnels for survivors with cerebro." Wolverine took charge. "And contact the professor… I think this classifies as an emergency."


	18. Chapter 18

Yay!! Another chappie!! I'm working on my college apps, so I'm not having as much time to write and type, so thanks for being patient with me. I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, and I hope you all like this one too. Thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews, they mean so much to me (I save each one in my mailbox, I swear. I have every single one since September 10th!) Thanks for reading and reviewing!! Keep it up!!! (P.S. If you saw Cajun Spice last weekend… was Gambit not the best???)

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            *          *          *          

            "We have upwards 20 survivors in the med lab now. Wolverine, Caliban and Storm have gone back for the last three left in the tunnels." Betsy informed Xavier through cerebro. He nodded on the large screen in front of her in the big round room. "After that, Wolverine plans to gather a team to begin burying the dead. There's no word yet on who they're working for, why they did what they did, or if they're even alive or where they are." Xavier thought for a moment.

            "How is Evan?" He finally said.

            "He's still unconscious… When we found him, he'd punctured his own lung with one of his spikes. We let Healer fix him before we made her take a break. We've lost a few criticals due to our lack of medical expertise." 

            "I've spoken with Moira; she will make accommodations for us to transport the wounded to Muir Island." Betsy nodded. "Have we heard from Callisto yet?"

            "No. We're praying she's one of those still left underground." Betsy said as she shook her head.

            "How are _we_?" The professor finally asked. Betsy had to think for a minute.

            "We're alright, I suppose. Kurt's worn out, Kitty is awfully shaken, Logan's tough as nails, Ororo's worried out of her mind about Evan, Rogue has withdrawn to her room and Scott is… a bit overwhelmed." She listed. "The new mutants have been doing their best in the infirmary, feeding people and freshening bandages and such."

            "What about Jean and Gambit?" Betsy's face perked at the question. She hadn't realized how long he'd been gone. She decided it would be better not to burden him with troubles he couldn't alleviate. 

            "They're… all over the place." She replied.

            "Alright." Xavier said, none the wiser. "Peter and I will return home as soon as possible. I'll telephone as often as I can, but you can always reach me telepathically." Betsy nodded as his image disappeared from cerebro's screen. She resumed her security scan of the sewers beneath New York City, as well as the mansion's premises.

            "You didn't tell him about Jean." Scott's voice behind her startled her.

            "How long have you been standing there?" She snapped at him.

            "Why didn't you tell him?" He ignored her question.

            "There's no need. It's not as if there's anything he can do about it, and he's worried enough already." 

            "Then _you_ have to look for her." He ordered.

            "I can't." She tried to shake him off as he lurched closer to her at her post.

            "Why not?" He barked at her.

            "Because she would fry every synapse in my brain."

            "What does that mean?" Scott shouted at her as he grabbed her hand, forcing her to disregard her security duties and give him her full attention.

            "You need to calm down, Scott. Just because she's not here doesn't mean she isn't safe." She ripped her arm away from him.

            "How do you know?" He demanded.

            "She's the Phoenix, Scott. She's invincible. God help anyone who dares mess with her." He looked at her in shocked disbelief, then gained control of his emotions.

            "We're having a briefing later tonight, just to share information, make sure everyone is on the same page."

            "I'll be there." She replied calmly, going back to her job. He nodded as he began to back out of the room.

            "Cyclops, we need you down here. We've found Callisto, but she refuses to speak to anyone other than our leader." Storm said over Scott's wrist communicator.

            "You found Callisto?" He said back. Past that, he was out of the room and Betsy couldn't hear anymore. She sighed heavily as she went back to her surveillance. She winced under the shiny metal helmet that kept her connected to cerebro. She began scanning the front entrance of the institute when the alarm went off, making her jump. She punched the buttons for a visual. The bottom of her stomach dropped when she saw Sabretooth punching through the front door.

            "Oh no…" She mumbled to herself. "Uh… I need help." She formulated. She raised her communicator to her mouth. "I need help." She repeated, then realized she hadn't turned it on. "I need help" She said again, this time more forcefully as the initial shock of a murderous intruder in her home wore off. She watched Sabretooth break into the house. He lurked around the main foyer as she searched for something inside the mansion.

            "We're kinda busy here, Betts." Wolverine said back. "Get Kitty or Rogue." She continued to watch the man on the screen in front of her.

            "Uh, guys?" She asked for anyone else who may be listening, but they had all probably turned them off to finally get some rest. On the screen, Sabretooth was making his way down a hall. He sniffed the air as he caught a scent.

            Sabretooth lifted his head back and smiled as he licked his lips. "Morlocks…" He growled to himself. He glanced around him as he continued on.

            "Oh my god." Betsy mumbled, unable to do anything.

            "Betsy? I'm here, what's up? Iceman's got your back!" Bobby broke Betsy's bewilderment over the communicator.

            "Bobby, are you still in the med lab?"

            "Yeah."

            "Bobby, listen to me, do what I say." She ordered.

            "You're a pushy one, aren't you?" 

            "I'm not kidding, Bobby, just do what I tell you, alright?"

            "Listen, Betsy, I like you and all… but I've been here longer than you, so you should be the one takin--"

            "Shut up, Bobby!" She interrupted him as she grew frustrated. "Barricade the entrances to the med lab. Don't let anyone through till I tell you to, d'you understand?"

            "But what if--"

            "Keep that door closed at all costs. Do whatever it takes." She screamed at him.

            "Alright, chill… take a Midol or something." He finally relented to following her commands. She hadn't realized he didn't know Sabretooth was in the mansion looking for the Morlock survivors.

*          *          *

            Rogue sat on her bed, clenching her knees to her chest with her ankles crossed. She stared out the window then at her crushed communicator on the floor. She never hated who she was so much as she did now. The Morlocks, mutants just like her, hid underground from the world waiting to attack them if they ever dared show their deformed faces topside. They weren't bothering, hurting, or imposing on anyone. Then the Marauders, also mutants just like her, invaded the Morlocks only safe haven to slaughter them mercilessly. She was disgusted with herself for being like those so ashamed; they would stop trying to find good in the world. She was also disgusted with the fact that she could be like those who would kill so many innocents for no apparent reason other than they existed. She was more disappointed in herself, and those just like her, for the fact that if mutants couldn't get along with themselves, why should regular humans think they could get along with the rest of society? Life was too complicated. Then, there was the matter that no one knew the whereabouts of the mutant, mutant killers or her favorite mutant. She rubbed her face on her knee to wipe away a tear that had fallen from her silent eyes. She closed them and imagined his breath on her neck as he whispered something inane in her ear. For a second, she felt as if he were really there. A chill went up her spine and it actually made her smile. When it happened again, even once she'd stopped imagining his eyes, she grew worried.

*          *          *

            Betsy walked apprehensively down the corridor. She clung to the wall to make sure it didn't end before she thought it would. She caught a glimpse of Sabretooth's back and ducked behind the threshold where hall emptied into the foyer at the bottom of the stairs. She fought to maintain a slow, calm breathing pace as she attempted formulate a plan.

            "I smell your fear…" Sabretooth purred as he turned around to see her in the hall on the opposite side of the foyer.

            "You may be able to smell my fear…" Psylocke said, stepping out of the shadows. "But you can't smell what I'm afraid of." She stood back on her haunches and firmly planted her elbows in her hips, her glowing, purple firsts flanking her. "And I can tell you, it certainly isn't you." He walked back toward her. She didn't move as he stood a foot over her small frame, breathing into her mouth. "You want a rematch, pussycat?" She taunted him.

            "This should be easy… no element of surprise." He chuckled as the purple knife twinkled in their eyes.

            "Wrong!" She darted off back down the hallway she'd come from. He was, indeed, caught off guard, giving her a head start before he began chasing after her. "Wolverine!" Psylocke shouted into her communicator. "Wolverine, it's Sabretooth, he's in the mansion!"

            "He's where?" Wolverine finally answered back.

            "He's in the mansion. He's lookin' t'finish off the Morlock survivors!" She turned a corner and ran into a dead end. She turned around to see Sabretooth turn the same corner, trapping her.

            "Betsy, I'm on my way. Don't do anything stupid or heroic." Wolverine instructed her.

            "Too late." Sabretooth replied, chuckling at Psylocke.

            "Not yet!" Rogue said as she jumped on Sabretooth from behind. She pinned him on the ground and began to rip off a glove to put him out. Psylocke managed to weave her way around them, and back down the hall. Sabretooth recovered quickly and knocked Rogue off him before she could drain him.

            "_Get Wolverine!" Psylocke called back telepathically. Rogue stumbled to gather her center of balance, then dove out a window in a room at the end of the hall to find Wolverine._

            Psylocke was halfway down the main hall before she looked back to see Sabretooth gaining on her. She kept running down corridors and turning corners. Her only direction was away from the med lab. As long as Sabretooth was chasing her, he wasn't chasing after defenseless Morlocks. She jumped just inside the professor's study to catch her breath. When she looked back, Sabretooth was standing in the door way. She turned to run into the study, but Sabretooth pounced on her, clawing at her ankle and knocking her to the ground. Psylocke kicked him in the face with her free foot and he let go. She tried to get up to run, but her ankle was too weak. She turned over to see Sabretooth approaching her, smiling. She was ready to accept her fate, when Rogue threw Wolverine in through the window behind her. He collided with Sabretooth and they rolled across the floor until his momentum ran out. Wolverine ended up on the bottom, Sabretooth on top. Wolverine pushed up with his legs, throwing the cat back out the shattered window. Rogue ducked to the side, hovering over Sabretooth as he hit the ground. Rogue watched as Wolverine jumped out the window after him, then flew into the study to help Psylocke.

            "Betsy, you're bleedin' real bad." Rogue informed her.

            "Help me to the window." Psylocke ordered.

            "Ah'm takin' you to the infirmary."

            "No, put pressure on it and help me to the window. I'm goin' t'get some answers." Psylocke resisted. She clawed her was across the floor and hoisted herself on the window ledge. Rogue pulled a bandanna out of her pocket.

            "Betsy, Ah can see your bone." Rogue said worriedly.

            "Shut up! I have to concentrate, put pressure on it."

            "Betsy--"

            "Shut up!" Psylocke stared out the window, watching Sabretooth and Wolverine fight. She winced as Rogue tied the bandanna around her ankle. Sabretooth was distracted by his fight with his greatest enemy. Psylocke took the opportunity to find out who he worked for and why they did what they did. She easily broke through whatever mental barriers there were, and sifted through the thoughts of killing Wolverine, to get her answers. She found was she was looking for and then some. She turned away from the window and looked down sadly at Rogue.

            "What? What is it?" Rogue asked.

            "Just take me down to the med lab." Psylocke finally said.

*          *          *

            "Betsy, we don't have anyone who can do stitches, and we're letting Healer rest, so Scott's gonna take you to the hospital." Rogue said, she and Scott standing at Betsy's bedside. The bandanna was soaked with blood, but her ankle had stopped bleeding about an hour ago. Betsy nodded blankly as she watched Callisto, standing between Spyke and Torpid's beds, behind Rogue. 

            "Can you walk?" Scott broke her reverie. She drew her attention to her ankle and pushed her foot down slightly, causing her get pain.

            "No." Betsy answered. Scott scooped her up off the bed and carried her out to his car. Rogue watched as they left the room. She saw Callisto move on to other Morlocks in the med lab.

            "Can I have some water?" Rogue was startled as Torpid pulled at her shirt. She was surprised at first, but then smiled at the little girl.

            "Water? Is that all? Do you want something to eat?" Rogue asked her. She nodded in response. "What would you like?" the shy girl shrugged her shoulders.

            "What do you have?"

            "I'm not sure. Do you want to come with me to the kitchen?" Torpid looked over at Callisto.

            "Okay." Rogue took the little girl's big hand as she hopped off the bed. She had a cast wrapped around her other hand. As they walked down the hall, Torpid watched her hand in Rogue's. "I like your gloves." She said, comparing them with her own.

            "Thanks." Rogue replied. "Ah hate 'em."

            "How come?"  Torpid's innocence only made Rogue smile.

            "Ah have t' wear 'em all the time. Lookin' at 'em reminds me Ah'll never get t'touch anybody."

            "Me either." Torpid's response surprised Rogue. She thought she was alone.

            "What do your powers do?"

            "When I touch people with my hands they freeze up like stone."

            "Oh…" Rogue nodded, she'd heard about Torpid's powers before. They finally turned into the kitchen to see Kurt crouched on the table eating ice cream.

            "Oh, hi!" He said with a mouth full of double chocolate rocky road. As he waved with a three fingered hand.

            "Why aren't you a Morlock?" Torpid asked him uninhibited, referring to his demonic appearance.

            "Just because you look different doesn't mean you have to hide underground." Rogue answered for him.

            "You don't? Don't they hurt you when you go outside?" Kurt shrugged his shoulders.

            "Sometimes, but I usually wear an image inducer so they don't know." Kurt pressed a button on his watch, making him look like a normal human. Torpid screamed and hid behind Rogue's leg. "That's funny, they usually scream when I turn _off the holowatch." He turned it off and Torpid poked her out from behind Rogue._

            "But you're hiding too." Torpid mumbled, still shaken by Kurt's transformation.

            "The fact that we don't look different doesn't really matter to the outside world. The fact that we're mutants makes them want to hurt us just as much." Rogue replied, handing Torpid a spoon and grabbing the ice cream from Kurt. "Ya, know, you can stay here with us if you want to." She scooped the ice cream in her mouth. Torpid's face lit up at the proposition, but quickly went back to gloom.

            "I can't…" Torpid replied. "They're my family." Kurt and Rogue both smiled at her, then sighed at each other.

            "You can come and eat ice cream with us anytime you want to." Rogue offered. Torpid giggled as she ate a spoonful almost the size of her head, getting it all over her face.

            "You can come eat _anything_ with me." Kurt said patting Torpid on the head with is tail.

            "Are those the stars?" Torpid asked, catching a glimpse out the kitten window. 

            "Uh, yeah…" Rogue said.

            "Can we sit outside and look at them?" Torpid requested, enthralled.

            "Sure." Rogue took Torpid's hand again as she stood up from the table. She led the little girl outside and they sat down in the middle of the front lawn.

            "Callisto doesn't let me go outside much." Torpid finally explained.

            "She's just tryin' t'protect you." Rogue defended Torpid's only mother figure.

            "I know." Torpid lamented as she looked up at the sky.

            "They're really not all that pretty out here, there's too much light pollution, can't hardly see 'em sometimes, even on the clearest night." Rogue changed the subject.

            "They're beautiful." Torpid said bluntly. Rogue smiled at her.

            "Yeah they are, aren't they?" Then she too looked up at the sky.  


	19. Chapter 19

Okie dokie, another chapter for my legions… 52 reviews!!! Yay!! You guys are the best!! I love getting those reviews so much… I read each one, and I was gonna respond to them all in this chapter, but it's too long. I have a short one coming up soon, so if you have any questions or anything you'd like me to respond to, I'll do that soon. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!!! Keep up the good work and I will too!

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *                      

            "Hello Miss… Braddock, I'm Dr. Cecelia Reyes." The doctor said to Betsy as she read her chart in the middle of the crowded emergency room. Betsy just smiled at her. "You put down that your place of residence is the Xavier Institute?" She was a youngish dark skinned woman with mocha colored hair. She was surprised anyone from the infamous Xavier Institute mutant haven would actually admit to it in public.

            "Yes… is that a problem?" Betsy replied.

            "Uh, no, I guess not. Let's just check out this wound." The doctor removed the green, now brown, blood soaked bandanna. She gasped; surprised the girl's foot had not been severed. "My god, did you get mauled by a tiger or something?"

            "Something like that." Scott mumbled from the other side of Betsy's hospital bed. 

            "Well, it's going to take a lot of stitches. This'll sting for a second, I'm going to give you a local anesthetic to numb the area, it should wear off in a few hours." Betsy nodded and winced as Dr. Reyes stuck the needle in her lower leg. "There, that wasn't so bad. I'll give that a minute or two to take effect, then I'll be right back." Betsy and Scott both nodded as the doctor left.

            Cecelia walked to the main reception counter in the middle of the waiting room, out of sight from her patient. "Hey, Roger?" She got one of the receptionist's attention.

            "Yes, Dr. Reyes?"

            "What's our policy on treating mutants?" He was slightly surprised by the question.

            "We don't." Roger replied simply.

            "We don't have a policy or we don't treat them?"

            "We don't have a policy… but we don't treat them." He clarified, gesturing with his hands. "Why? Do you have a mutant patient?"

            "No." She lied. "I was just curious… So what if one comes in, in need of medical attention?"

            "You turn them away, just like any other drug seeker." The doctor was offended by his comments, trying hard to look confused rather than angry.

            "But what if they really need medical care?" She looked for a loophole to make it "legal" to treat Betsy.

            "Look, Cecelia, would you want your donations and tax dollars going to treat _mutants?" He asked rhetorically. "Let 'em start their own damn hospitals." She nodded sheepishly as he got up from behind the counter to continue with his work. She looked around to make sure no one was looking, and crossed Betsy's address off her chart, heavily, so no one could decipher it, then wrote in her own address. Checked around again to make sure she had gotten away with her transgression, then walked back over to Betsy and Scott._

            "Do you feel anything?" Dr. Reyes asked Betsy, who shook her head in response. "Good." She sat back down on the stool next to Betsy, and began sewing up the gashes on her leg.

            "What are your powers?" Betsy asked bluntly, out of the blue. 

            "Excuse me?" The doctor replied, flustered.

            "I'm a telepath." Betsy explained nonchalantly. "When you shout to yourself, 'don't give them any clues you're a mutant.' I can hear it, whether I want to or not." Dr. Reyes looked at Betsy and Scott, then went back to her job, trying to make as little fuss as possible over what Betsy had said.

            "I create a force field a few inches around my body. It's completely impermeable." She grumbled, reluctantly admitting Betsy was right.

            "Here," Scott said, handing her a slip of paper. She took it between her middle and index fingers. "It's our phone number at the Xavier Institute. We can give you help controlling your powers--"

            "I do fine on my own, thanks." She interrupted him. He ignored her statement and went on with his speech.

            "There's no pressure. And we could use another doctor around the house right now." His subtle plea for help forced her to take a second look at the paper.

            "You mean you need another doctor besides Dr. McCoy?" Betsy and Scott both nodded. Cecelia looked at the paper again and pondered working along side the famous Dr. Henry McCoy. Then she sighed and grew frustrated. She handed the paper back to Scott. "If anyone finds this I'll lose my job." She said as if they should have already known. 

            "Well, if you ever change your mind, just think really loudly and one of us will hear it." Betsy said pleasantly. The doctor forced out a smile then went back to work sewing up Betsy's ankle.

*          *          * 

            When Betsy got home, she decided the sheer stress of the day was going to make her heart explode. The urge very rarely struck her, but tonight, she decided she wanted a cigarette. She opened the door to Remy's room to find Rogue, sitting on his bed, hugging one of his shirts. Rogue looked at Betsy on her crutches. Betsy was confused.

            "It smells like him." Rogue explained. Betsy rolled her eyes.

            "Oh, you mean like cheap cigarettes and toxic cologne?" Betsy hobbled to the dresser and began searching through the drawers.

            "What is that supposed to mean?" Rogue asked. She was surprised at Betsy's bitterness.

            "I just wouldn't lament over him if I were you." She said coldly. She found a pack of cigarettes and plucked one out. "Can I have a lift to the roof?" Betsy asked Rogue. "My foot's still pretty numb."

            "You smoke?" She asked confused.

            "Sometimes, just to calm my nerves, and this has certainly been one of the most depressing days of my life."

            "Only one of?" Rogue said, finding anything more depressing than a massacre unfathomable.

            "The day Kwannon died." Betsy nodded.

            "Who?" The name was familiar to Rogue, but it had been a long time since she heard it. Betsy rolled her eyes.

            "The assassin… she… uh… was me." Betsy tried to explain. 

            "Oh, is that who that was?" Rogue memory had been quickly jogged. Betsy looked down at the floor sadly. "Yeah, I'll take ya up there." Rogue relented. She was suspicious as she picked Betsy up and carried her out the window. She set her down gently on the roof, then took a few steps back, her 7th sense ringing clearly in her ears. "Betsy, what's going on?" Rogue asked again, knowing Betsy hadn't been completely honest.

            "I'll tell you later." Betsy snapped, confirming Rogue's suspicions.

            "No, Ah wanna know what's goin' on, now." Rogue demanded. 

            "Look, I hate thinkin' about it, much less sayin' it aloud. I'll tell you all at the briefing later, that way I only have to say it once." Betsy yelled at her. Rogue decided to back off.

            "The prof called just before you guys got home, they're at the airport right now, they oughtta be home in about an hour. We're having the meeting as soon as they get here." Betsy nodded as she put the cigarette in her mouth and tried to switch on her lighter. "Just call when you're ready to come down, Ah guess." Betsy nodded again as she finally got her cigarette lit. Rogue stepped off the roof and went back inside. Betsy sat on the roof in the cold fall night. She breathed in deeply as she let the clear air clean out the smoke she'd just inhaled, and then took another drag on the cigarette. She wiggled her toes to feel the anesthetic wearing off, finally. She looked up at the stars as she felt a familiar presence. Her heart quickly solidified to stone.

            "What are you doing here?" She said callously to the shady figure standing behind her.

            "I wanna help, Betts." He replied. Betsy turned around to see Remy's red eyes glowing in the darkness. 

            "Haven't you helped enough already?" She mumbled sarcastically as he came to sit beside her.

            "Whadda you mean?" he asked as he looked at her like a puppy dog. She was unmoved by his profound innocence.

            "Don't play dumb with me, Remy." She coldheartedly took another puff on the cigarette.

            "I didn' know…" He muttered, exposed and ashamed.

            "You didn't know?" She repeated. She blew smoke in his face as she yelled at him. "You didn't know? You hired Vertigo, Sabretooth, Harpoon, Scrambler and Riptide… you led them into the Morlocks' tunnels, you knew how much he despised their mere existence, Remy… and you _didn't know_?" She paused as if she were going to wait for him to respond. "What did you think they were going to do, have a tea party?!"

            "I'm sorry." He mumbled.

            "If you didn't know, it's simply because you didn't want to." She said harshly.

            "Look, Betts, once I realized… I left. I couldn'--"

            "You left them to do their job." She interrupted him coldly. He paused and moved the gravel around on the roof beside his leg. He drew pictures in it with his finger.

            "I wanna make it right." He finally offered. 

            "Oh, well why didn't you just say so!" His face lit up at her sudden change of heart. "Okay, here's what you do," He nodded intently. "We need for you to bring forty people back to life, and ten more back from the brink." He finally got the clue, but she didn't end his guilt trip. "Or, you could just go back in time and stop it before it happened, like you had the opportunity to do, but for some illusive reason, decided not to." She couldn't possibly make him feel any more responsible than he already did, but she was angry, and someone had to take the blame. He was getting frustrated with her.

            "I'm sorry." He muttered again.

            "Sorry for what, Remy? Sorry for what you did, or that the master thief himself got caught? You wouldn't have ever told us, would you?" He looked down at the ground to avoid her piercing gaze. "No, no you wouldn't have. Remy LeBeau likes his secrets." She tossed the burnt cigarette off the roof. "It's no wonder she threw you out." The thought made Remy perk up again.

            "How is she?" Remy asked as he stood up and walked to edge of the roof.

            "Rogue? You killed forty people this morning, and you're worried about Rogue? You stupid, horny, hick. Wolverine was right not to trust you. And to think I stood up for you." She struggled to stand, so he went to help her, but she pushed him back. "Do you even think you deserve her forgiveness? Do you?" She screamed at him as she hobbled closer to him, back near the edge of the roof. He shook his head, acknowledging his self doubt and submissiveness, but she wouldn't relent. With every affront she threw at him, she pushed him back, disgusted with him and his egocentrism, caring about his own absolution rather than the lives he'd cost this morning. "Do you think you deserve any our forgiveness?"

            "I know, I'm sorry." He pleaded. "I shoulda done something, I know, I'm sorry I didn't."

            "Get out of here, Remy. Go away. You don't deserve this place. You don't belong here. You're not welcome here anymore!" Her last push was enough to finally force him off the roof and out her sight. At first, she felt relived. But as she stood there, a sudden wave of remorse overtook her, and she peered over the edge. There was nothing. He had vanished. She did a mental scan, and could feel no presence. He was gone. Once she decided she hadn't actually hurt him, she allowed herself to fill with anger once again. Good riddance.

*          *          *

            "Where's my money?" Sabretooth growled as paced back and forth through the spacious library like a caged lion.

            "Where's my redhead?" The woman asked back. She sat in a large, leather arm chair in front of a fire place drinking a cosmopolitan. She wore long white linen pants, a white, sleeveless top with a white sweater, and white sandals, despite the autumn season outside. Her long blonde hair and blue eyes glistened in response to the dancing flames before her.

            "You hired me to tell you what Essex was up to. The X-Man was a bonus." Sabretooth answered back.

            "I made it very clear, Mr. Creed, that you would get your money as soon as I got the Phoenix. And you failed." Her elitist British accent rang in his ears like nails on a chalk board. He approached the woman as if she were his prey, ready to pounce. She didn't move a muscle, merely transubstantiated the chemical makeup of her skin to one more solid than rock, diamond.

            "Mr. Creed, perhaps if you were to continue in your best efforts to find our Phoenix, my associate would be happy to pay you for the services you've already rendered." An old man, also British, who had been watching the interaction between the woman and the beast, stepped in to prevent a confrontation. "Isn't that right?" He asked the woman. He skin was now normal flesh and she didn't respond, rather she sipped on her drink. "Isn't that right, Miss Frost?" He asked again. She still didn't respond. "Emma!" He finally shouted at her.

            "Alright, Sebastian." She said as she stood up and walked past him behind a large desk. She pulled a thick envelope filled with bills in American and English currency out of one of the drawers. She selected a few hundreds and handed them to Sabretooth. "Bring me the Phoenix, Creed, and don't screw it up this time." Sabretooth grunted at her as he grabbed the money. "Now get out of here, you're shedding cat hair on my oriental rug." He looked back to growl at her as he left the room.

            "Don't worry, my dear. We will have the Phoenix." Sebastian reassured her. "In fact, I believe we should celebrate… Hellfire style." He smiled with pride.

            "Count me out. I have work in the morning." Frost replied as she began to leave the room as well.

            "I don't understand why you insist on working with those filthy brats." He sighed.

            "There's one brat I'm particularly interested in, as a matter of fact, Sebastian." She explained over her shoulder. "You remember the Braddocks, don't you? James and Elisabeth once had membership to our inner circle… about the time as the Worthingtons."

            "Ah, yes…" Sebastian recalled.

            "I'm just going to keep tabs on Betsy Braddock, make sure she won't foil our plans." Sebastian chuckled evilly as Emma left the room.

*          *          *

            "We've got 43 dead, 22 survivors, eight of which are in critical condition. Two died about an hour ago." Logan informed the assembled party. "The porcupine woke up a little while ago. His powers are returning to normal, but he's still suffering from a gaping hole in his lung."

            "Logan, please." Ororo begged him to spare her the details of her nephew's grave condition.

            "Sorry." He replied sincerely. "We've begun transport to Muir Island, almost half are there already. We've buried about 15 or so, and we'll continue our efforts into tomorrow." The professor nodded.

            "I'm going to Scotland once every Morlock has a grave to be remembered by." Callisto demanded. No one argued with her.

            "Betsy, I believe it's your turn." Everyone turned to stare at her, Logan, Callisto, Storm, Rogue, Scott, Kurt, Kitty, Peter, and all the new recruits, as the professor addressed her. She sighed heavily, trying one last time to skillfully compile all she knew into a coherent form.

            "Earlier this afternoon, the Phoenix, an alien life form, inhabited Jean's body." Callisto scoffed and rolled her eyes as this information didn't concern her or her people, which she always thought should be the priority.

            "What is the Phoenix, exactly?" The professor asked.

            "The Phoenix is the soul of the universe… a protector of worlds." She answered prophetically.

            "Why did it take _Jean_?" Scott inquired. Betsy shrugged her shoulders.

            "It chose Earth because it felt we needed protecting. Why it chose Jean, I dunno." Scott sighed and looked at the floor, dissatisfied. "The Phoenix has the power to bend reality to her very whim. The entity needed a sentient form to perform its duties."

            "How do you know about all of this?" Xavier posed.

            "A big, fat folder in Sinister's files. He found out about it from a time traveler the Phoenix inhabited some time in the future. She came here briefly to warn him… I think her name was Rachel Dayspring."

            "Time traveler?" Kurt questioned wearily.

            "Bend reality." Betsy reiterated.

            "Warn him about what?" Scott probed.

            "_Bend reality" Betsy said again. "That's an awesome power. If the Phoenix for some reason changed its motives, we could be in serious trouble."_

            "Is that likely to happen?"  Xavier asked.

            "I don't think so. The universe as we know it has remained unchanged, with the minor super nova here and there, for billions of years and so has its soul." 

            "So exactly how much did you know was gonna happen before it did?" Rogue finally spoke.

            "Um… well… we knew about the power from Dayspring, and I had a vision , so we knew it would be Jean, but we didn't know when, where, or how." Betsy told all she knew.

            "What about the Marauders?" Callisto's impatience finally got the best of her.

            "Oh, right. The only one we know for sure is alive is Sabretooth. The others could still be in the tunnels, they could be dead… or they could be back at their home base. We do know, however, they worked by the word of Sinister. They slaughtered the Morlocks simply because he deemed them unworthy of sharing the same gene pool with other mutants." Betsy continued.

            "Is that all?" Callisto barked, offended by Sinister's ideals.

            "Well…" Betsy tossed the information around in her head. "This may not mean anything to _you_, Callisto, but…" She paused as this was her last chance to keep it secret and no one besides her would ever have to know.

            "But what?" Bobby pressed.

            "All five were hired and led into the tunnels, by…" She paused again and sighed. "By Gambit."

            "What?!" Rogue shouted furiously.

            "He didn't know." Betsy tried not only to calm Rogue, but to defend Remy as she wished she had before.

            "How do you know? Did you see him?" Rogue shouted frantically.

            "No." Betsy lied. "I just… know." Rogue stormed off up the stairs, everyone let her go. Betsy hobbled to the foot of the stairs after her, and then stopped to think. No one moved when the doorbell rang.

            "I'll get it." Scott answered. When he opened the door, he was surprised by who he saw. "Dr. Reyes?"

            "Can I come inside?" She asked meekly.

            "Of course." Scott said as he moved to the side and gestured her in. "Uh, everybody, this is Dr. Reyes. She stitched up Betsy's leg earlier." He introduced her.

            "Betsy, I thought I told you to stay off that foot." Cecelia scolded Betsy, who was still at the foot of the stairs, pondering whether or not to chase after Rogue. She merely lifted her wrapped ankle, balancing on the other one. Peter took the initiative to sweep her into his arms and carry her up the stairs.

            "I am taking you to bed." He informed her. She was too tired to resist. 

            "How can we help you, Dr. Reyes?" The professor said as he wheeled himself in front of her.

            "You must be Charles Xavier." She said bewildered as she extended a hand to him. He nodded and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

            "And you too." He responded, ever the diplomatic gentleman.

            "C'mon, everyone. Get to bed. It's been a loooong day." Ororo ushered everyone else out of the room. "We'll let you all sleep through tomorrow, but then you have to go back to school." Cecelia watched as all the children ran up the stairs.

            "I saw what happened on the news." Dr. Reyes said to the professor. "About the massacre. I'm sure you have everything under control by now, but if you still need help, I'd be happy to."

            "Your assistance would be greatly appreciated." Xavier smiled at her tiredly.

*          *          *   

            Rogue sat in her bed under the covers with her knees at her chest and her chin on top. She stared at the wall as she listened to Betsy change for bed.

            "Why would he do this t'me?" Rogue finally broke the awkward silence.

            "Why he would do this to any of us… I don't know." Betsy said. "Sinister's a mysterious man, he could've offered Remy any number of things. He could've called off his debt… I just hope whatever it was, it was worth it."

            "No, nothing could be worth this." Rogue snapped. "He offered to take away mah powers for me, and Ah wouldna done it."

            "Well, not in hindsight. Remy didn't know what they were going to do. If he did, I'm sure he wouldn't have done it." Betsy tried to comfort her, sitting next to her on the bed.

            "How do you know?" Rogue whispered. Betsy paused for a moment then decided to come clean.

            "I spoke with him." She finally admitted. Rogue's green eyes got wide.

            "You what?" Rogue bordered on yelling at Betsy as her eyes flashed blue, showing Carol was itching to fight for Rogue.

            "Up on the roof earlier." Betsy explained. "He was there. He wanted to help and I got angry and said he wasn't welcome here."

            "You lied t'me." Rogue said, gaining a grip on the situation.

            "Yes." Betsy answered. "I was angry, I shouldn't have… I wanted to hurt him, not you… I'm sorry." Tears began to well up in Betsy's eyes as she finally began to face the consequences of her actions. "I pushed him off the roof." Betsy said.

            "YOU WHAT?!" Rogue did yell this time as she pushed Betsy off the bed and onto the floor.

            "I didn't mean to!" Betsy put her hands up in defense as Rogue dropped to the floor on top of her, a knee flanking each of Betsy's hips. Rogue pinned her down by her shoulders.

            "_You didn't mean to? __He didn't mean for _any_ of this!" Rogue shouted._

            "I know, I'm sorry, I think he's alright though."

            "You _think_? Thinkin' ain't enough Betts." Rogue brought her hand back to hit Betsy.

            "He wasn't there, Rogue. When I looked down, there should've been a puddle of broken bones, but there wasn't any sign of him, physical or otherwise." Rogue lowered her hand and took a second to absorb Betsy's words.

            "Ah'm gonna kill you!" Rogue said, putting her hand back up.

            "Rogue…" Betsy tried to divert her attention.

            "Ah'm gonna kill you!" Rogue punched through the floor boards beside Betsy's ear, showing her she wasn't kidding. Betsy finally decided to accept the punishment for her actions.

            "Hit me, Rogue!" Betsy said as she brought her hand back up again. 

            "Ah'm gonna kill you!... Ah'm gonna… Ah'm gonna…" Rouge's temper diffused, but Betsy braced for impact.

            "Do it Rogue! It'll make us both feel better!" She said as Rogue slowed her furious breath.

            "Ah'm gonna… learn from my mistakes." Rogue whimpered as she dismounted Betsy. She sat on the floor with her back against the bed frame.

            "What?" Betsy mumbled as she sat up next to Rogue.

            "Thanks f'r tellin' me… Ah guess." Rogue brought her knees to her chest again and folded her hands across her ankles. She put her forehead down on top of her knees as she began to cry.

            "I'm sorry, Rogue." Betsy said, offering the best consolation she could. "I'll look for him, every waking minute. I'll find him for you."

            "You said it yourself… He probably doesn't wanna be found." Rogue sobbed. "Ah'm sick of pushin' people away."

*          *          *

            Peter was situating himself in his room when Kitty knocked on the door frame.

            "Come in, Katya." He said. She danced in holding something behind her back.

            "I'm sorry about your sister, Peter." She said as she sat down on Scott's bed. He sighed and looked at the clothes he'd folded up on his bed.

            "I miss her." He mumbled as he carefully put the clothes in his dresser.

            "I'm sorry you had to come back to this…" She continued, referring to the morning's massacre.

            "I missed the worst of it." He identified his silver lining. "How are you, Katya?" Peter diverted the attention from himself.

            "I can't really sleep." She said, shrugging her shoulders and looking at the clock on Scott's nightstand. It was nearly four in the morning. "How come you haven't gone to bed?" She asked as he continued to pace about the room, unpacking his suitcase.

            "Jet lagged." He stated simply.

            "Oh." Kitty couldn't think of anything else to say, but she didn't want to go back to her empty room and sit in the dark, alone with her thoughts. "Oh, I got you something." She finally remembered the gift she'd set on the bed behind her. "I know Christmas is still a couple of months away…"

            "You do not have to, Katya." He said humbly.

            "No, _you_ have to. I saved up my allowance for, like, three weeks, and there was this totally cute pair of shoes at the mall – and they were on sale – and I turned them down, just for you." She quilted Peter into taking the gift. He sat down on his bed and carefully unwrapped the gift as if he were planning to save it and use it for later.

            "Oh… Katya…" Peter said as he saw the gift.

            "Betsy and Remy told me you liked to draw, and I figured you guys left Magneto in a hurry so you wouldn't have anything… well, you know." She blushed at her own generosity. Peter looked at her, speechless, then he looked down at the expensive set of drawing pencils and sketch books she'd given him.

            "You will have to let me draw you sometime." He finally muttered.

            "Oh, I don't know about that… it depends how good you are…" 

            "Thank you." He finally said, suffocating her small frame in a hug.   


	20. Chapter 20

Wooohooo!!! This is one fluffy chapter if I must say, but it makes me happy. If you don't like too much mush, you won't like this chapter, sorry. And it's really long too, wow. Important stuff happens though. I love all of you, my readers… and even more, I love the reviewers! Good Lord, who saw Ascension part 1??? Was that not amazing??? Anyhoo, thanks for reading and reviewing!!!            

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

            "Are you watching for him?" Logan said as he sat beside Rogue on the front steps of the mansion.

            "No…" She mumbled. It seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she just trailed off.

            "It's too cold and dark out here for you not to be waiting for him." He exposed her lie. She looked down at her feet.

            "He's not comin' back." She muttered.

            "I know you don't believe that."

            "Why hasn't he come home then? Betsy's been lookin' for him everyday, and he knows how to be found… he knows how not to."

            "He'll come back, Rogue." Rogue looked up at Logan as if she were about to cry, but he knew she wouldn't. She'd been cried out.

            "Then why hasn't he already?" She begged him for the answers she wanted to hear.

            "He's probably just scared of the rest of us. I threatened to kill him; Kurt threatened to kill him… at least that's how I'd feel." Rogue looked back down at her feet; unsatisfied with the answer she'd been given.

            "The last thing Ah said to him was that Ah wanted him t'leave me alone. It was a little over a month ago." 

            "We all make bad decisions." Logan said. "An' I promise the worst decision he could ever make he's already gotten out of the way. You have to know that he's gonna come back, and when he does, you… we _all_ need to be the ones to help him make the right ones." He paused and sighed. "You need to get out, Rogue. You been home alone, dwelling on the things you can't change for too long… makes you wanna tear your hair out."

            "An what should Ah do?" Rogue snapped at him.

            "Try and fix things with Betsy… that you can change."

            "There's nothing wrong b'tween me an' Betsy." Rogue lied.

            "Don't tell me you don't resent her, I know you better than that, Stripes. She feels it too. She's punished herself for this more than you ever could. Why do you think she's been pushing herself so hard with cerebro…? I can tell you now she ain't lookin' for Jean." Rogue immediately looked away from Logan again. She wanted to avoid eye contact with him since he'd caught her in another lie. "Go to a movie or something; you don't wanna lose your best friend too, do you?" Rogue sunk her head between her shoulders as she shook it. Logan patted her on the head as he stood up. "You needed a lesson in all that love crap, anyway." He turned around to walk inside when Rogue stopped him.

            "Love?" She asked bitterly.

            "Yeah…" Logan said, confused by her question.

            "He doesn't love me. If he did, he'd come back to me." She said cynically.

            "Rogue--" Logan sighed.

            "An Ah can't love him. Ah don't. It's dangerous for me to love." She jumped to her feet and pushed Logan out the way as she stormed into the house. He just rolled his eyes at her.

            "Oh, Rogue…" He called after her as he calmly shut the door from inside the house.

            "What?" She barked back.

            "Miss Frost called to tell us how you all have been doing at school the last couple of weeks."

            "Yeah?" Rogue said impatiently.

            "She said you've been the slowest to recover." She merely shrugged her shoulders. "Rogue, just --" He sighed, trying to think of what to say. "Just, try to focus, okay?" She snorted at him as she continued down the hallway.

*          *          *

            Rogue stood at the large metal door to the giant room that housed cerebro. She decided that if she were going to mend any fences, she would have to put herself in the right mood. Otherwise, she would get angry and defensive, and just make things worse. She punched in the security codes to open the door and walked down the long, narrow platform to where Betsy was sitting, connected into cerebro, looking for Gambit.

            "Hey, Betts." Rogue announced her presence.

            "Oh!" Betsy looked back at her surprised. "I didn't hear you come in." She wiped tears away from her face.

            "You okay, Betts?"

            "Oh… yeah… If I just sit alone with my thoughts for too long…" Betsy shrugged her shoulders.

            "You find mah Cajun yet?" Rogue smiled. Betsy did too through her tears.

            "I will, I promise."

            "Betsy…" Rogue sighed. "It's not your fault."

            "Yes it is. He was all set to come back and made him go away."

            "Ah made him leave in the first place." Rogue interrupted her. "Ah'm sorry f'r makin ya feel so bad about it. It's just easier t'blame someone else, y'know?" Betsy nodded sheepishly as he shut cerebro down, and took off the metal helmet. 

            "I'm sorry." Betsy said.

            "For what?"  

            "For being angry and scaring him away." Rogue rolled her eyes. 

            "You had every right to be angry… he killed… Ah mean, Ah would've been angry too." They both paused as neither of them had anything to say. "Let's get outta here." Rogue finally said. "You wanna go see a movie tomorrow night, or something?"

            Betsy shrugged her shoulders again. "I don't really want to go where there's too many people."

            "Ah know how ya feel." Rogue sympathized. "Hey, Ah know, Ah got a friend who runs a museum. Maybe he can keep it open late for us, give us a private tour?"

            "Oh it sounds brilliant!" Betsy finally said cheerily.

            "Great, I'll go set it up!" Rogue and Betsy left the room.

*          *          *

            Emma looked down at Jean from her bedside. "Leland, will you please see to it that Mr. Creed gets the rest of his payment for a job done… even if not too well." She sneered at the tall blond man, acting as an attendant.

            "Of course, my queen." He said as he began to leave the spacious bed room.

            "Oh, Leland…" She called to him. He stopped and turned to her for his next set of orders. "Please give Jason and I a moment alone with the girl… don't mention this to Sebastian quite yet." He nodded and left. Once the door clicked shut, she looked to the man on the other side of Jean's bed. He was rather young and fairly handsome, but Emma knew not to trust her eyes, not around Jason, not for a second. "She was just recovered from the Hudson Bay, so she's still weak. She gets stronger each time she recuperates, so don't spook her." She ordered him. "I'll wake her, and you make sure she loves us… understand?" He nodded calmly at her instructions. She took Jean's pale hands into her own and went to work on Jean's mind, bringing her back to consciousness. As her eyes blinked open, Jason took over Jean's mind from Emma in one fluid motion. The blurry images before Jean's eyes turned sharper as if she was being born again and looking on the world for the first time. She looked at Jason and Emma standing over her. She saw calming, familiar faces, but couldn't place them anywhere in her mind.

            "Oh, Phoenix! You're alright!" Emma shouted with glee, albeit sarcastically.

            "Phoenix… me?" Jean mumbled.

            "Oh, dear, I was so worried for you." Emma said, helping Jean sit up in the bed while handing her a glass of water.

            "Worried? Why?" Jean muttered in a fog.

            "You took a nasty spill, Phoenix. Don't you remember?" Jean thought for a minute but couldn't remember a thing. Suddenly a rush of memories burst to the forefront of her mind.

            "Yes… I remember… I hit my head… I fell off the yacht." She recalled suspiciously.

            "Yes…" Emma said, glancing up at Jean, then back at Jason. "That's right, we rescued you." She said.

            "Who… who are you?" Jean finally asked.

            "Oh my dear Phoenix…" Emma's British accent sounded foreign and somewhat painful. "You know me… Emma. I'm rather offended. I've been your care giver since… since as long as you can remember." She smirked to herself.

            "Oh." Jean said as she looked down at the blankets pulled over her. She felt oddly guilty for not knowing this person who meant so much to her.

            "Well surely you remember your dear Jason." Emma said, gesturing to the silent man. Jean looked over at him and racked her brain for a name to go with the face she saw, but couldn't find one. "I'll let you two alone." Emma smiled and squeezed Jean's hand before she got up and left the room. Jean couldn't remember ever feeling so out of place before. She couldn't remember anything. She saw images and felt feelings, but couldn't grasp to them like words dancing on the tip of her tongue.

            "My darling Phoenix." The man said, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Surely you remember me?" his eyes glowed an odd yellow and once again, her memories grew clear.

            "Yes." She said, relieved as she leaned in to hug him. He smiled over her shoulder, knowing she would be easy prey. "This just feels so… odd. I shouldn't be here…" She said, releasing him. He grew frustrated. How dare she question the Mastermind?

            "What are you talking about, my love?" He tried to act sincere.

            "I remember another life… I think. My family… a school…" She was finally wrapping her fingers around the flashing thoughts, then once again they began to slip away. She looked up at Jason's face to see his eyes glowing again. For some reason, she was not surprised by the mystic luminescence.

            "You must have been having dreams in your coma." He explained.

            "But they felt so real… like repressed memories." She looked at him for confused.

            "Dreams, Phoenix… nightmares. They can seem real like that, but they're all created by a dormant mind." He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a hug. "It's alright now, I'm here with you." She lost herself in his protective embrace as she fell under his spell.

            "Oh, Scott… I've never felt so safe as when I'm with you." She murmured in his ear. He pulled away and looked at her.

            "What did you call me?" He asked calmly.

            "Jason… Jason, my love." She corrected herself.

            "That's what I thought." He resumed his hug and searched her brain for any memories he let slip. Once he was satisfied there were none in the first place, he stood up.

            "Jason? Where are you going?" Jean called to him.

            "You've been through so much, dear.  I'm going to leave you to rest. Nothing will harm you, I promise." She nodded and let him leave. She immediately went back to sleep.

            As he stepped outside and shut the door behind himself, he was struck on the side of the head, falling to the floor.

            "You old, haggard fool." Emma shouted at him. "You let her slip."

            "Calm down, my queen." He fought to regain control of his mind, and thus, his image. "I've got her wrapped around my little finger." He said as he stood up.

            "Oh please, I could see everything that was going on in there." She whined.

            "Miss Frost, I assure you… she's eating out of the palm of my hand."

            "_Your hand? What about __my hand?" She demanded._

            "Yes, yes, your hand too." Mastermind humored her.

            "I can't believe you let his name slip." She scoffed as she went back into the room. 

            "I didn't let it slip, Emma… there was nothing there."

            "What are you saying?" She stopped and turned around.

            "There's more to those two than you thought, my queen… something we can't just 'handle'." She rolled her eyes at him impatiently. 

            "This is the Hellfire club… there isn't anything that we can't just 'handle'." She opened the door to the bed room to see Jean sleeping, two feet above her bed. "Phoenix!" She shouted, waking Jean causing her to drop back on the bed with a thud.

            "What? How did I...?" Jean asked frantically.

            "Phoenix, we must talk." Emma said, racing across the room to sit on Jean's bed beside her. "You have an awesome gift."

            "I do?" Jean said, starry eyed.

            "Yes. And there are people looking for you. They want to exploit your power."

            "My _power_?" Jean repeated as a burst of flames and temptation rose inside her.

            "Yes, and when you use those powers, it gives those people the opportunity to find you… and I won't let anyone take you from me." Emma said as she hugged Jean. Jean was stoic, and didn't hug back. She could do little more than feel the joy of the word "power".

*          *          *

            "Betsy, Rogue, your ride is here!" Scott called up the stairs. Betsy skipped down as Rogue flew in behind her. 

            "Sure you don't want to come?" Betsy asked Scott as she snaked out the front door.

            "No thanks, Betts, I'll be fine here. You guys probably wouldn't want me moping around there anyway." He said.

            "No, really. We wouldn't--" 

            "C'mon!" Rogue said, interrupting their conversation by dragging Betsy outside.

            "Wow, a limo?" Betsy quickly forgot all about Scott. 

            "Nice, huh?" Rogue answered as the chauffeur opened the door for them, and they slid inside. "Makes me feel kinda underdressed."

            "Oh, don't worry about that, Miss Rogue." The chauffeur answered as he drove the two off the institute grounds. "Mr. Worthington simply wanted to make sure you were as comfortable as possible."

            "Well ain't that just sweet a him?" Rogue smiled.

            "Worthington… why is that name familiar?" Betsy asked. 

            "Only familiar? Ah thought you knew everything about every mutant on the planet." Rogue snuffed.

            "Mutant?" Betsy said surprised. "Why _don't_ I know about him?"

            "Ah dunno. Maybe Sinister was keepin' him from you."

            "Interesting."

            "Hey look, there's a TV in here!" Rogue leaned forward to play with the small screen built into the driver's seat in front of her.

            "Ooh and sodas too!" Betsy opened the little cabinet under the TV.

*          *          *

            When they arrived a short while later at the museum, their host was waiting outside for Rogue and Betsy.

            "Thank you, Henry." The young blond man said as the chauffeur opened the car door. "Ah Rogue!" The blond man said as she emerged from the limo. "It's so nice to see you again… under pleasant terms." She winced when he hugged her. 

            "You too, Warren." She gritted her teeth and smiled at him.

            "Scott told me, the last time we met, that you weren't feeling well. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

            "Thanks." She smiled warmly and sincerely at his thoughtfulness. "Oh Warren, this is my friend and teammate--"

            "Betsy Braddock." Betsy finished for Rogue as she emerged gracefully from the car. She was immediately consumed by Warren.

            "Uh, right." Rogue said, rolling her eyes.

            "Warren Worthington." He introduced himself as he took Betsy's hand and kissed it. "It's much too cold out here. We should go inside." He said staring intently into her eyes, just as enthralled by her as she was with him. Rogue sighed as she took Betsy's hand and dragged her inside, Warren following behind. Rogue hated being ignored. "Braddock… I know that name from somewhere." Warren said. Betsy just shrugged her shoulders as they stood just inside the large glass doors at the entrance of the museum. They were still transfixed on each others' eyes. "Well, do you like impressionism?" He finally asked the two.

            "I love it." Betsy murmured.

            "Uh, where's the ladies room?" Rogue asked instead. Warren pointed to a hallway behind where the ticket takers would be in the museum lobby. "Thanks." She said. "Don't wait up." She grumbled as she walked away. 

            "So you own this museum?" Betsy asked Warren as they sauntered out of the main lobby.

            "Well, my parents do. I'm learning the business though."

            "Oh really?" Rogue shook her head and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how quickly Betsy's brain turned to mush the second she laid eyes on Warren. Rogue felt lonely and jealous as she walked to the restroom. She wanted to avoid becoming angry at Betsy for some stupid reason that wasn't her fault.

            "Boo!" Rogue's gaze at her feet was interrupted as a face popped down from the ceiling in front of her. The shock forced her to fall back to the ground on her butt. She recognized who it was as she recovered from her heart attack. He lowered himself to the floor from hanging upside down from the air conditioning vent. "Surprised to see me?" She growled at him.

            "I will kill you, you stupid, Cajun, backwoods THEIF!!!" She quickly jumped up to pounce on him, pinning him to the floor.

            "Thief?" Warren said when he heard Rogue shout from the next room. 

            "Warren, wait!" Betsy tried to stop him, but she was harmlessly knocked away as he uncased his wings.

            "Rogue, what is – You!" Warren shouted as he drifted back into the lobby and saw Rogue holding Gambit down. "What are _you doing here? Come back to steal something else? Just wait till I call the cops on you." Warren reached into his pants pocket for his cell phone._

            "Warren, stop!" Betsy said as she caught up to him.

            "Lissen here, flyboy." Rogue said, standing up. "If anybody is gonna come in here and take away _my_ Cajun again, they're gonna have to step over my cold, dead body to do it!" She yelled. The other three stared at her in silence, amazed by her aggressiveness. She took a second to listen to what she had said, and quickly felt foolish, ashamed of letting her mind turn to mush the second she saw Gambit the way Betsy had when she saw Warren. "Uh… Remy, Ah don't think there's anything Ah can do. You'd better kill him, Warren." Betsy was the first to look away from Rogue and up to Warren at her side.

            "I think Rouge is going to keep a pretty good eye on him." She said as she smoothly pulled Warren's cell phone out of his hand. She took Warren's hand and tried to direct him back to the impressionist room. Remy and Rogue both watched as they waited for them to disappear.

            "You missed me, chère?" Remy finally said, arrogantly. She looked at him with utter hate, then she calmed herself.

            "No Remy, Ah died." His smile dissipated, and he quickly grew serious.

            "Me too." He said.

            "Then why didn't you come home?" Her eyes glazed over as she was about to cry. She'd imagined how this moment would go for over a month and in all its different incarnations, it never went like this. She was going to be strong and make him get down on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. Instead, she was melting into a puddle of overwhelming emotion.

            "I was afraid of this… but with Wolverine and Nightcrawler. They wouldna called the cops… jus' dismembered me." She thought of what she was going to say, revising in her head a thousand times in a second what she had practiced.

            "Don't ever leave me again." She said as her tears began to slip. He wrapped his arms around her, wanting nothing more than to stop her pain. "I'm sorry for everything, just don't leave me. Please, I'm sorry." She buried her head in his chest as she cried. He used his empathy to wrap himself in her emotions. He felt the same way she did. They both felt overwhelmed by relief. Fear was replaced by the warmth of security. But still, they both felt regret.

            "I'm sorry too." He whispered to her as he put his chin on the top of her head.  He saw a sign leading a certain area of the museum, and was struck with an idea. He let go of his embrace with Rogue and took her hand. "C'mon." he said, "I wanna show you something."

*          *          *

            "What was up with those two?" Warren asked Betsy as he sat down next to her on a bench in front of a Seurat painting.

            "_Those two?… What was up with __you two?" Betsy asked in kind._

            "Well, if a known thief and terrorist came into your place of business while you were on a date, how would you react?" Betsy blushed.

            "A date?" She smiled as she brushed her purple hair behind her ear. Warren smiled at her confirming her question. Then she got back on the subject. "He's an X-Man. What made you think he was a terrorist?"

            "_He's an X-Man? Wow, Xavier must be letting anybody in." Warren scoffed._

            "Xavier lets in anyone wants to use their powers for good over evil." She said indignantly.

            "Oh, is that what he was fighting for when he broke in here to steal my half of the spider key and prevent the aforementioned X-Men and myself from getting the other half?"

            "The spider key?" Betsy shouted. "You had the spider key? My boss had been lookin' for that thing for almost a century!... Wait… he did what?"

            "Yeah. He was under the control of that Mesmero guy and then he worked for Magneto."

            "Oh…" Betsy said as all the pieces fell into place. "But he's an X-Man now."

            "Is he really?" Warren asked. "Is he a good one?" Betsy was thrown for a loop by the question. She wasn't even really sure what it meant, much less how to answer it. "Well?" Warren pressed when she didn't respond.

            "He… uh… well, he tries… I think" was what clumsily spilled out of her mouth. She regretted it the moment it was too late to take it back.

            "What does that mean?"

            "Well, he just hasn't really had the opportunity to prove himself." She thought she covered her tracks well.

            "Really? I did it in about half an hour. How long has he been on the team?"

            "Umm… about three months now." She said with pride, also counting the time she'd been an X-Man.

            "He hasn't had the chance to prove himself in all that time? Even after the… the massacre?" Betsy had to think for a moment, but came up only with the conclusion he'd had several opportunities to prove himself… and he'd failed just about each time.

            "No, he's a hero." Betsy lied to herself as much as she did to Warren. He saw right through her, but decided to change the subject.

            "So how did you come to be an X-Man?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.

            "It's a long story." Neither Betsy nor Warren noticed Rogue and Remy stopped in the doorway, eavesdropping on their conversation on their way across the museum. 

            "Forget 'em." Remy whispered to Rogue, before continuing on their way without ever making their presence known.

*          *          *

            "Remy--" Rogue started to comfort him about Betsy's words.

            "I said 'forget 'em'." He shouted as he poked his head around the control room of the planetarium he'd led Rogue to. She stood in the middle of the floor encircled by rows of chairs. 

            "But she stood up for you." Rogue called out to him.

            "I know what she was thinkin'. I know she knew what he was thinkin' an' she didn't try to dissuade him. I know." With that, he kicked something in the control room. The lights in the planetarium went off, leaving only stars twinkling on the ceiling. Rogue took a moment to admire the grandeur. "But it's like I said." Remy reappeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder. "Forget 'em." She smiled at his ability to shake off the small stuff. She turned around and looked him in the eye. Their perfect compliments kept in trance with each other. "What you said earlier…" Remy started as Rogue picked up his hand while he held her with the other, and began drawing pictures on the palm of his fingerlessly gloved hand. 

            "Mm-hmm…" She nodded placidly.

            "What you said to the Angel… 'bout dyin' b'fore they'd take me away… did you mean it?" She was struck by the randomness of the question. She shrugged her shoulders.

            "Ah guess so." She answered. "Otherwise it wouldna come out so easy." She went back to drawing on his hand. He brushed her hair back from her face with his nose to get her full attention.

            "Remy LeBeau ain't never met a damsel in distress that wasn' worth savin'--"

            "Don't Ah know it." She said, interrupting him.

            "Can I finish?" He smiled back at her and she nodded. "Merci, like I was sayin'… Remy LeBeau ain't ever met a damsel in distress that wasn' worth savin'--" Rogue started to giggle. She tried to suppress it, but for some reason, she couldn't fight it off. "Godammitt, Roguey! Here I am tryin' t'be all sweet an' romantic after we been separated for over a month!--"

            "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"  She said. "You're doing a good job. Keep going." She bit her lip to keep from distracting him. He sighed as he began again.

            "I ain't never met a femme that wasn' worth savin', but I wouldna ever died for one…" He paused to give Rogue the opportunity to absorb the seriousness of what he wanted to say. "…till I met you." This did get her full attention.

            "You mean that?" She asked.

            "I guess so." He nodded. "Otherwise it wouldna been so hard to say." She looked up at him overcome with a sense of peace. He watched her carefully as she picked his hand back up and splayed his exposed fingers, lest her curl them up and touch her face. She kissed the palm of his hand, and he reveled in the tingle. "I got you somethin', chère." He said. "A while ago."

            "You didn'--" She started as he pulled an interesting green cloth out of one of his trench coat pockets.

            "I got it at the mall, long time back." He explained, then smiled at what it was before he cut it up.

            "What is it?" She asked. Rather than telling her, he leaned in to kiss her. She leaned back and looked at him as if he were crazy. He explained by laying the cloth over her face, and finishing his kiss. He pulled his head back and opened his eyes to see her reaction. Her eyes were still closed as she waited for more. "I can barely feel it." She whispered, hoping it wouldn't fall off.

            "I know." He said, proud of himself. His inner praise was interrupted as she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him. He was pleasantly surprised by her aggressiveness. He accepted her advances until she was finished. She wouldn't relent until she could detect the faint hint of cigarette on his breath, and even then she continued until the taste grew too overwhelming through the cloth. She wouldn't let it spoil the physical joy she felt.

            "You know, that was like, my first ten kisses." She said, blushing as she pulled the cloth down from between their faces, leaving a small sliver of light to slip between their lips.

            "Actually, that would be ten of your first eleven." He smiled, but didn't move away. She smiled too.

            "Well, yeah, but Ah was hypnotized for that first one. I don't really remember it, so it doesn't really count."

            "Can't get it out of my head." He responded. She sighed as she felt his breath oh her lips.

            "You know, this is the closest Ah've ever been t'somebody without stealin' their soul." She savored the warmth radiating off his skin. He reveled in the fact in that his prize was less than an inch away from him, but he cared too much about her to take her like a trophy.

            "Do it, chère." He said, finally opening his eyes to look at her. She looked back at him, confused, but she trusted him too much to want to move away.

            "Do what?" She asked, playing dumb, hoping he didn't want what she thought.

            "Please?" He begged.

            "Ah don't wanna hurt you, Remy." She tried to grasp every last second of closeness she could before she would pull away.

            "You're killin' me now, Rogue." Her heart beat faster as she put her hand back around his neck. He didn't move as she slightly tilted her head upward and gently placed her bare lips against his. He groaned as he fell to his knees.

            "Ah'm so sorry, mon brave. Are you okay?"

            "What did you call me?" He smiled at her use of his language. He sat all the way on the floor as he powers left him dizzy.

            "Ah told you Ah didn't want t'hurt you." She grumbled as he picked him up and put him in one of the chairs around them.

            "Hurt me?" He said as she situated herself in the chair next to him. "Roguey, that was one helluva kiss… I'm on cloud nine." She smiled at him and rolled her eyes as she put her head on his chest. She spent a second admiring the stars on the ceiling.

            "Ah never knew there were so many stars in the sky." She said.

            "Oh yeah, just can't really see 'em cause al the light pollution--"

            "They're beautiful." She interrupted him. He looked down at her and smiled.

            "Yeah, they are." He said. Then he looked up too.

            "What's the black thing in your pocket?" She asked nonchalantly.

            "The what?" he played dumb.

            "C'mon, Remy. It must be important to you if it's one of only two memories Ah siphoned off ya."

            "_Two thoughts?"_

            "Yeah, the black thing… and about the other… let's just say, my chest ain't that big." She finally looked up at him. He was smiling as he remembered the picture in his head.

            "You don't see yourself the way I do, chère." 

            "No, really, Remy. What's in the vial?" He thought for a moment about how to explain it to her. He didn't want to say, but he wanted to be honest. He wanted to prove Betsy wrong. But more importantly, he wanted Rogue to be happy.

            "Well… it's a--"

            "Oh there you two are!" Betsy said as she flung open the doors to the planetarium, startling both Remy and Rogue.

            "Wow, this is romantic… we should've come here." Warren said, marveling at the indoor night sky.

            "There's nothing in the slightest bit unromantic about having a pash on the floor under a van Gogh painting, wrapped up in those majestic wings of yours…" she said seductively.

            "Not when you say it with your accent." Angel said, making her blush.

            "Having a pash?" Rogue said, unfamiliar with the British colloquialism.

            "They were makin' out." Remy informed her snidely. He knew only because Warren was wearing Betsy's lipstick.

            "Really?" Rogue said excitedly, happy for her friend.

            "Right, well, Warren has to work in the morning and--"

            "And my mother would have a fit if she found out I kept the museum open late for girls again." He interrupted.

            "Again?" Betsy interjected. "You mean you've done this before?"

            "Sorry, Angel. We'll high tail it on outta here." Rogue answered, diffusing their bickering.

            "Thanks Rogue." Warren said as she and Remy got up from their seats. "I'll get the limo ready."

            "Hey, Rogue, I still got Logan's bike." Rogue smiled at Remy in front of her.

            "Thanks, Warren, but Remy and I have our own ride." Rogue said.

            "Well I don't want to go home alone." Betsy whined.

            "What are you afraid of? Aren't you a hero?" Remy mumbled.

            "What?" Betsy was confused.

            "It's alright. I'll ride home with you." Angel said. "And if we have another pash on the way home, so be it."

            "What do you mean 'if'?" Betsy smiled, as she and Warren walked out of the planetarium.

            "What's wrong with you?" Rogue hit Remy in the arm as soon as Betsy and Warren were out of sight.

            "Ow, watch it, chère. You must still be learnin' your own strength."

            "Ah thought you forgot all about 'em."

            "I tol' you to, didn' say nothin' bout me." She sighed.

            "Can you just let it go till we got settled in back home? If you two fight, they're all gonna side with her, y'know."

            "What side are you on?" His question threw her back.

            "Ah'm not on anyone's side." Rogue said indignantly. "Betsy's wrong but you shouldn't be passive aggressive about it, okay? She doesn't know we heard anything. Just don't act too quickly, alright?"

            "You're one t'talk." He sneered.

            "Ah'm gonna pretend Ah didn't hear that just because Ah haven't seen ya in over a month an I don't wanna fight. Let's just go home." Remy sighed and kissed her on the top of her head. 


	21. Chapter 21

Alrightie… here ya go… little bit a Remy, little bit a brotherhood… oh, and by the way… Everyone is really out of character. Sorry, just bear with me. Hope you enjoy. Okay, okay, who saw part two of Ascension??? Dear Lord, I thought I was gonna have a coronary… they were all grown up!!! Sitting through four seasons of Evo was really worth it just to see that last 30 seconds, you know? Not that I hated all four seasons of Evo or anything, but you all get my point. They can't cancel it now!!! Okay, take a deep breath… back to fan fic. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!!!         

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            "Are they home yet?" Betsy asked Kurt and Logan as she walked into the kitchen.

            "They?" Logan grunted.

            "I mean she. Is _she_ home yet?" Betsy tried to cover her tracks. Logan and Kurt both looked at each other, then back at Betsy.

            "Rogue? Isn't she with you?" Kurt asked.

            "Uh, yeah… she was… but she had some business to take care of and left a little early." Betsy lied. Logan and Kurt grew suspicious. Logan approached Betsy and sniffed her carefully. Betsy feared he'd smell Gambit on her, even though they hadn't even touched. She also feared she was shouting into Logan's mind.

            "That's expensive cologne you're wearin', Betts." Logan finally said. She heaved a sigh of relief.

            "I don't kiss and tell." She said, blushing. Logan smiled at her and rolled his eyes. Suddenly his head snapped back to the window. Shortly thereafter, Kurt and Betsy knew why. They heard a motorcycle pull in front of the mansion and shut off. Kurt and Logan finally understood what was going on. Kurt and Betsy both cringed and Logan grimaced with anger. 

            "Shhh!" Rogue warned Remy as she poked her head in the front door. She looked around for a minute and didn't see anyone in the main foyer. "Ah think we made it home free." She said as she pulled Remy inside with her. They started up the stairs, but stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the distinct SNIKT! at the bottom of the stairs. Remy and Rogue turned around to see Betsy and Kurt standing nervously at Logan's sides, waiting to see what would play out.

            "Bon soir, M'sieu Logan. Long time no see." Remy smiled arrogantly.

            "It's gonna be even longer when I gauge out your eyeballs, Gumbo." Logan snorted.

            "Logan… calm down--" Rogue started from behind Remy.

            "No, no, Rogue. S'alright The Wolverine ain't th'only one who don't think I should be here." Remy interrupted her. Betsy and Logan both looked over at Kurt.

            "What? I haven't even said anything." Kurt said defensively. Remy looked intently over at Betsy.

            "Don't do this, Remy." Rogue pleaded.

            "Me?" Betsy asked surprised. "I thought we knew each other well enough to have a silent understanding about what went on the last time we spoke." Betsy addressed his accusation.

            "You didn' want me t'be passive aggressive, Rogue, so I'm gonna be aggressive." Rogue rolled her eyes at his foolishness. "An' I'm not talkin' 'bout what happened up on the roof, Psylocke."

            "Then what are you talking about?" Betsy asked, seeing his anger in the way he addressed her.

            "I'm talkin' 'bout earlier this evenin'." He said cryptically. Betsy took his cues and caught the thoughts he threw at her. Betsy knew he refused to say it aloud because he knew it was stupid, but for some reason he wanted to be combative. She heard from him the harsh words she had said to Warren earlier.

            "That? You're angry about _that_?" Betsy shouted in disbelief. "I was just thinking out loud. You shouldn't have been listening in on our conversation anyway."

            "The fact you were thinkin' it at all is th'problem."

            "You don't even know the half of it, Remy. So don't presume to know what's goin' on my head." Logan and Kurt backed away, knowing Betsy would give him a piece of her mind, so they wouldn't have to.

            "What's left to know? I heard all I needed to hear." He turned around to continue up stairs. Rogue stood in front of him with her arms folded. She scoffed at him and moved out the way, showing her disgust in his actions.

            "Don't you walk away from me." Betsy called out to him as she walked up the stairs after him. He turned around to stare the purple haired vixen in the face with his burning red eyes. "You want to know what wasn't said, _Gambit? Do you?" she growled._

            "Please, enlighten me."

            "Don't do this, please! Betsy, just say you're sorry and walk away, even if you aren't. Just let it die. This is stupid!" Rogue tried to intervene. Remy and Betsy each put a hand up in her face, telling her to shut up.

            "I don't think you deserve to be here because you've had several chances to prove yourself worthy of all of this, time and time again, and every time you've failed. You even killed more than 40 people, not two weeks ago. I fight my ass off to bring you here, thinking you could turn yourself around, and this is the thanks I get?"

            "I didn't ask to come here!" He snapped. "I didn' ask f'r any a this. I tol' you I didn't deserve none a this." Betsy looked at the ground feeling sorry for him, then she grew angry.

            "You know, I defended you to Angel, I defended you to Rogue, and I defended you to anyone else who said you weren't worth it, and it's a relief to know that now I don't have to clean up anymore of your messes. Y'know, the only thing I ever did for you that you actually deserved was pushin' you off that roof!" She pushed him hard against the wall as she stormed off down the hallway. He looked to Rogue, thinking he would gain pity support after the verbal abuse he'd just sustained, but she looked back at him empty and angry. He felt her disappointment. She shook her head at him and walked up the stairs.

*          *          *    

            Betsy changed into her PJs in a huff and walked back out of the room to go watch some TV to distract herself from feeling angry. She stared at the floor as she walked down the hall, and bumped into Rogue, who was doing the same.

            "Sorry." Rouge said, stepping out of the way.

            "S'alright." Betsy said coldly, continuing on her way.

            "Betts--" Rogue stopped her. She tried to formulate what she wanted to say into words.

            "While we're young." Betsy demanded. Rogue was beginning to get frustrated by Betsy's attitude.

            "Okay, look, Remy was stupid t'go off on ya like that but he's tired and… and he just feels like he's been doubted and pushed around too much. Ah mean, Ah know how he feels… just, lay off, okay? It's not fair."

            "Oh, really? You know what else isn't fair? Makin' baseless accusations about someone using tainted information they obtained illegally." Betsy barked at Rogue, then continued off down the hallway.

            Rogue screamed through her teeth over her failed, if not valiant, attempt to reconcile things between two hotheaded and defensive people. She threw her fist into the wall. "Cajun! Ah need a punchin' bag!" she shouted. Betsy smiled under her breath at how easy it was to make Rogue angry. 

            Betsy jumped on the sofa in the big, empty rec room. She turned on the TV to the local news. "I'm Trish Tilby, reporting live from the Brotherhood of Bayville boarding house, where the fire department has just been called in." Betsy was instantly intrigued. "When authorities arrived here on the scene, the known mutant home was engulfed in flames. It is not known at this point whether anyone is, or was in the house as it burned, or how it was started. It does appear, however, that the fire has spread down the street…"

            "Betsy… geez…" Kitty whined as she ran down the stairs. Her hair was down and she was wearing a nice gown.

            "Uh… sorry." Betsy said instinctively, even though she didn't know why.

            "Did you not hear the doorbell or something?" Kitty as she went to open the front door.

            "Uh, no… I guess I didn't." Betsy responded, confused.

            "Lance? What are you doing here?" Kitty shrieked when she saw him at the door.

            "Kitty, you gotta – You look nice." Lance said, losing his train of thought.

            "Oh, thanks. I was sitting for Peter." She blushed.

            "Who?" He was unfamiliar with the name.

            "Me." Peter said, as he took Kitty's side at the door.

            "Oh." Lance said disappointedly when he saw the big Russian man he was, indeed, rather well acquainted with.

            "What do you want, Lance?" Kitty said, snapping Lance back to the reason he came to the Xavier Institute.

            "You gotta do me a favor--" He started again.

            "I'm not doing your homework for you." She interrupted him.

            "No, Kitty, you gotta turn off everything that produces heat. TVs, light bulbs, everything, it's gotta go off." Lance ordered.

            "What? Why?"

            "Hurry up before Wanda's hex bolt wears off, and his powers are unfreezed." Lance pushed Kitty inside and let himself in, switching off lights. Betsy jumped off the couch, having heard the exchange, and helped Lance and Kitty switch off lights.

            "Lance, what's going on?" Kitty finally asked in pitch darkness. Betsy let her hands glow so they could see enough to get around.

            "It's Pyro." Lance explained. "His powers have gone crazy." 

            "Pyro…" Peter mumbled, fearful for the goofy boy who had been like a brother to him for a while.

            "Yeah, everything that produces heat just bursts into flame. Wanda had t'freeze him so we could get him here without my car exploding." Peter's eyes grew wide, and he ran up stairs.

            "I will get the professor." He announced. Just then the Blob burst inside, carrying a moaning Pyro.

            "Alright, outta my way!" Blob shouted like a foghorn, Wanda, Pietro, and Toad following in his wake.

            "Wait a sec, what's wrong?" Betsy said, trying to slow him down.

            "Who're you?" Blob grunted as he laid Pyro down on the couch.

            "I'm Psylocke." She said indignantly.

            "You're a what?"

            "Forget it, Blob." Pietro demanded. "He's sick, we need help."

            "Yes, and he's highly contagious." Xavier said from the top of the stairs with an armored Colossus at his side as he held a handkerchief over his mouth. "Please, if we're going to help him without getting anyone else sick, I'll need you all to clear the room." Everyone looked at Pyro on the couch, then took a few steps back. "Betsy, go to cerebro and contact Hank to see what we should do." She nodded and ran off down the hall, leaving the room pitch dark again.

            "Professor…?" Lance called out.

            "Yes, Lance?" Xavier responded warmly.

            "Y- you have to save him." He stuttered.

            "I'll do everything in my power." The professor answered.

*          *          *

            "The _final_ flaring of his powers?" Betsy shouted at Dr. McCoy in disbelief. "You mean he's going to _die?"_

            "From all that you've told me, Betsy, it seems that way." He tried to be compassionate about what he was saying, but he also had to be honest. "I'm afraid all I can tell you to do is make sure he's comfortable and take his last words… and keep the lights off." 

            "But what if it isn't?" She asked as she flapped her purple butterfly wings in front of his face in Scotland. "Is there something we could do? Please, we have to do something!"

            "Well, there is a minor surgery we could do to delay the virus, but he sounds too far gone to me."

            "Dr. McCoy!" She shouted at him.

            "Alright." He said. "You'll need a doctor." He informed her.

            "And some decent light…" Betsy mumbled.

            "Oh, right…" McCoy thought for a moment.

            "We'll think of something." She said. 

            He briefly described the nature of the surgery, and Betsy finally realized how truly dire the situation was. "And make sure you document everything you do, and its result, as well as detailed observations of his condition and symptoms from the time they began."

            "He's not a guinea pig." Betsy scolded.

            "No. If he were, he'd be in a much more controlled environment, but this is the best we can do for now. Just get as much information as you can. He could help someone else." That point made her relent her position and go on about her task.  She disconnected from cerebro, collecting her butterfly back to her faster than the speed of light. She took a list of needed supplies she had written down during the butterfly's and the Beast's conversation, and walked quickly back to the foyer. Once she reached the end of the hallway, the mansion was dark, forcing her to breathe heavily to calm herself as she braced herself for the unknown. She illuminated her fist, allowing her fears to subside a little. She could sense that Scott, Logan, Remy, Rogue and some of the new mutants were now watching.

            "Betsy, what did he say?" The professor asked her calmly as everyone glared at her, waiting for answers.

            "There's a procedure we could do… but it's in his brain. We'd need a doctor and light." Everyone in the room sighed collectively.

            "Wait!" Scott shouted as a light bulb went off in his brain. "Dr. Reyes!"

            "Yes! Dr. Reyes!!" Betsy said, having the same thought. 

            "Her forced field could let her work right in the middle of his flames! And if a raging fire isn't enough light…" Scott explained for everyone. Xavier smiled at their quick thinking. 

            "Alright, you two go to the hospital to try and recruit Dr. Reyes. Don't alarm her colleagues… and remember we can't force her." Betsy and Scott nodded. "Is there anything else we need?"

            "Oh, uh… just a few things we don't keep stocked." She said, checking the sheet she'd taken notes on in the dim purple light of her psionic knife. 

            "Pietro, Gambit?" The two were both surprised when the professor put them together. "I know of a medical supplier you can break into – only because it's after hours, we're desperate, and we can't impose on Cecelia – get the equipment, then get out quickly." They nodded apprehensively. Betsy handed Xavier the slip of paper with Dr. McCoy's instructions on it. She and Scott left to get Dr. Reyes while Xavier led Pietro and Gambit down a lit hallway to explain their duties.

*          *          *

            "So that's what your sister had?" Kitty asked bluntly as she sat next to Peter on his bed. He nodded. "This must be hard on you."

            "It is not only that." He said. "For a long time, he was my brother as well."

            "Really? I mean, he joined the brotherhood." She gasped.

            "Just because we do not believe in the same philosophies does not mean we are not alike." Peter explained. "The three of us… we had been through a lot together… although we may have had our own agenda."

            "I understand." Kitty consoled the emotionless man.

            "I fear I will lose everyone I love to the Legacy Virus… I would run if I were you." Peter tried to force out a smile.

            "Awww… I love you too, Peter." Kitty said as she took on of his big hands. Her innocence finally provoked a true smile. "The professor wants you to help the doctor if she decides to come." He nodded. Kitty nodded too and decided to leave as she had nothing else to say.

            "I know what you are thinking, Katya." Peter called out after her.

            "How? Did you suddenly sprout telepathy or something?" She snapped, much to his surprise.

            "It is one thing to care for someone despite their faults… or even because of them, but to care about someone for the person they you _want them to be… it will end up only in disappointment, Katya."_

            "I know." She sighed as she finally left the room.

*          *          *

            "When did his symptoms begin?" Xavier interrogated Lance, Wanda, Blob, and Toad.

            "It was… uh… about two weeks ago, I think." Wanda answered.

            "No, it was four weeks." Lance said. "He had the rash on his neck."

            "He did?" Wanda was surprised. "I didn't see it until about two weeks ago."

            "Yeah… that's when it got too big for the make up to cover it." Lance explained. 

            "Make up? Dude wore _make up_?" Toad interjected.

            "Well, I wasn't supposed to know." Lance said. "He only did it because he didn't want Wanda to think he was losing control."

            "Oh, understandable." Toad responded.

            "Me? He wanted to impress _me_?" Wanda blushed. "Lotta good it did him… the crazy, Aussie retard."

            "Yeah, he was crazy alright. Kept laughin' at me." Blob finally spoke.

            "Sign of insecurity, yo. Don't sweat it." Toad comforted him.

            "Hey, have some respect, guys!" Lance snapped.

            "What other symptoms?" Xavier finally broke in. "When did he begin to lose control of his powers?"

            "About the same time, I guess." Lance said.

            "No way!" Wanda shouted, surprised once again.

            "He was trying to impress you." Lance asserted.

            "What about any changes in diet or behavior… any mood swings?" The professor decided to nip this bout of squabbling in the bud.

            "He started yelllin' at me whenever I ate all the meat… or fish. And he was always cravin' nuts!" Blob was proud of himself, thinking he might have been helpful.

            "Hmmm… foods high in protein…" Xavier concluded as he carefully wrote down everything they said.

            "Man, he's been real mopey too." Toad threw in.

            "Mopey? How mopey?" The professor pressed. The brotherhood all looked at Lance. He grumbled.

            "I think he thought he was dying," Lance finally explained.

            "DYING?!" Wanda shouted.

            "Well, he was talking about… I dunno… He said he's always felt misguided." Xavier couldn't help but crack a smile.

            "What's so funny?" Wanda snarled as she grew vengeful.

            "Nothing Wanda, just hope. Please calm down. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" When they all shook their heads, the professor began to wheel out of the room. "You are all welcome to stay here until you find a new home… provided you fight for peace." They all grumbled, but couldn't say no.  "That's what I thought." Xavier said as he finally left the room.      


	22. Chapter 22

Okie Dokie, here's another chapter for you guys. I really appreciate you loyalty in reading my story and reviewing. I know how hard it is to stay interested in a really long story. So, once again Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!!!          

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            "Could you go any slower?!" Quicksilver barked at Gambit as she tried to break the security alarm on the medical supplier warehouse, without setting it off. "C'mon, I thought you were a master thief?" He huffed.

            "Shut up, Pietro." Gambit whispered. "Security's real tight at these kinds of places. If you keep screamin' like a little girl, you'll wake up the guards watchin' those cameras." He gestured towards the cameras pointed down at them. Quicksilver was surprised to see them.

            "How d'you know they're asleep?" 

            "They're rent-a-cops. Dey always sleep… otherwise, they'd be out here already." Gambit went back to working on the security system. "An' I may be a master thief, but I'm also a can _artist_. Even the smallest masterpiece takes a little time."

            "Yeah, time we don't have." Quicksilver mumbled.

            "You just impatient, or you actually care 'bout one of your 'brothers'?" Gambit smiled as he flung to door open without incident. They both walked in.

            "Definitely just impatient… where's the list?" 

            "An' bitter I see." Gambit said as he fished through the pockets of his trench coat for the list of supplies they needed.

            "Wouldn't you be bitter if your father favored a bunch of lazy, ungrateful, arrogant lackeys over his own son?"

            "What channel were you watchin'?" Gambit handed him the paper and Quicksilver looked over it briefly.

            "Get the bag." He directed. Gambit pulled a large plastic sack out of his pocket and held it open. Quicksilver sped throughout the entire building so quickly, Gambit could only tell where he was by how far away his voice sounded. "He took all of you in off the streets. He housed you, fed you, and trained you. He sent me away to 'handle' the brotherhood. He's lied to me, betrayed me, and cast me aside." Gambit listened openly, but couldn't help to crack a smile at Quicksilver's naivety. "And then you just left him. You just left what I always wanted."

            "Listen homme, he treated us like slaves. Sorta like Mystique always treated you, except, she realized y'all were still kids. Mags didn' care. We did what we were told, when we were told t'do it. He gave you your own team. He sent ya t'live with tes amis." Gambit explained.

            "Whatever." Quicksilver answered, stopping in front of Gambit to dump an arm load of supplies into the sack.

            "Freeze, Junkie!" Quicksilver heard from behind him. He looked back to see two security guards pointing guns at him.

            "Have a nice nap?" He said, remarking their tardiness, angering them. He looked back in front of him to see that Gambit had disappeared with the medical resources. He was surprised by the abandonment, giving the guards an opportunity to cuff him. "Hey?" Quicksilver shouted indignantly. "Wait, I don't have anything!" He pleaded.

            "What a pity." One of the guards said, as the other pulled a couple things off the shelf next to them and threw them on the floor. "Well, ya did, but you dropped 'em on the floor when we cuffed ya."

            "No way man--" Pietro looked up to see Gambit's red eyes glowing on top of another shelf. The security guards were too involved with their "situation" to notice him as well. Gambit reached up to the ceiling and began to charge one of the sprinklers, making it glow pink and start to sizzle with heat, setting off a shower. The cops were caught off guard by the sudden down pour, and Gambit swooped down, grabbing Pietro's hand cuffs and charging them until they dissolved.

            "Hey! There's two of 'em!" One of the guards shouted, spitting water. Gambit got up to try and run with Quicksilver, but one of the cops had caught the collar of his coat. He quickly pulled the sack out of his coat and slapped it in Pietro's hand.

            "Go!" Go Gambit shouted.

            "But what about--" Quicksilver hesitated.

            "Go fool! I'll handle this!" With that, and a silver streak, Pietro was gone.

            "Hey, where'd he go?" The guards were befuddled by Pietro's disappearance. Gambit rolled his eyes as the other guard slapped a fresh set of metal bracelets around his wrists. Suddenly, sirens could be heard.

            "Forget him, the police and fire department's here." The two pulled Gambit outside as he sighed with boredom.

            "What happened?" A real police officer asked the two security guards as they went out to meet him.

            "This one," He jerked Remy's tied arms, "and another one broke in to feed a habit."

            "Whoa!" the officer said, seeing Remy's red eyes. "He must be comin' down hard." Gambit made his eyes flash, spooking the police officer. "He's not a junkie, he's a mutant!"  He concluded.

            "Good work, detective." Gambit sneered.

            "Read him his rights and put him in the car, do everything kosher. Make sure the charges stick." The leading officer said as he followed the fire chief inside the warehouse. Two other police officers took over for the rent-a-cops. 

            "What's your name, son?" One of them asked as he shoved Gambit in the car. Gambit didn't respond. "How old are you?" He grew frustrated when Gambit still didn't answer. "Look, boy, _I_ don't think all mutants are scum… Don't prove me wrong." He whispered. Remy finally looked him in the eye, surprised by his mutant sympathy. "What's your name, son?" he asked again.

            "Wagner." Remy smiled. "Kurt Wagner." 

*          *          *

            "Excuse me, have you seen Dr. Reyes?" Scott asked the receptionist as he and Betsy walked up to the counter in the middle of the hospital waiting room.

            "Uh-huh." The receptionist said, handing Scott a clipboard with a form on it. "You'll have to fill this out, then take a seat. A doctor will be with you as soon as possible."

            "No, no, we need to see _Dr. Reyes_." Scott repeated. Betsy sighed impatiently.

            "Is she expecting you? Do you have an appointment?" The woman asked, skeptical and obviously very bored with her job.

            "Well, uh, no, but--"

            "Dr. Reyes!" Betsy shouted, as Cecelia went from one exam room to the other. "Dr. Reyes!" Betsy called out, trying to grab her attention.

            "Betsy? Scott? Are you alright? Is everything okay?" Dr. Reyes said as Betsy and Scott rushed across the room to her, dodging sick children and injured people in wheel chairs.

            "No. Dr. Reyes, we need your help!" Betsy pleaded.

            "What is it?" Cecelia asked, flustered and confused.

            "A friend, at the institute, he needs an operation." Scott explained.

            "Well, bring him in. I promise he won't be turned away." The doctor responded as kindly as she could.

            "No, it isn't safe." Betsy said. "You have to come with us."

            "No, I'm not a surgeon, I can't help you. And if I leave in the middle of my shift, I could lose my job." Cecelia refused. "If you want to bring him in--"

            "We need your _special talents_." Scott interrupted her. She quickly grew frustrated. They knew how ashamed she was of being a mutant, and they said they would respect her wishes to remain anonymous. It seemed to her as if they had lied and she'd trusted the wrong people with her secret.

            "I'm sorry. I can't help you." She said bitterly as she began to walk away.

            "But Dr. Reyes, he might die!" Scott called after her.

            "Sounds to me like he _will_ die." She spat back. Scott and Betsy watched dumbfounded as she distanced herself.

            "How can you turn your back on us?" Betsy shouted. "On your own kind?"

            "I'm nothing like you freaks!" Not only did Cecelia's sudden shouting cause the busy ER to freeze, but the unexpected emergence of a cellophane-like coating over her entire body, caused by an impulsive urge to protect herself, forced her to the center of the universe. "Look what you've done!" She broke the eerie silence that had fallen over the crowded room. She broke down and fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "Look what you've done." Several other doctors approached Cecelia, as well as Betsy and Scott.

            "Don't worry, Cecelia, we'll fix you up." One of the doctors said.

            "Don't touch me!" She shouted. "I'm a mutant, Mark. You can't just 'fix me up'!"

            "Especially when she isn't broken." Scott jumped in.

            "Who are you anyway? What have you done to her?" Mark sneered at him.

            "Liberated her." Scott smiled.

            "You outted me!" She corrected. 

            "You have nothing holding you back anymore." Betsy said. "They will judge you… they probably already have." Cecelia looked up at Scott, and then Betsy in her PJs and coat. They were both smiling warmly, albeit worriedly. Then she looked at her colleagues and saw only fear, anger, and confusion. She calmed herself and sat placidly on the floor.

            "Alright." She said, her force field dissipating. "Alright, I'll go." Betsy and Scott breathed a sigh of relief at each other, then extended a hand to Cecelia and helped her off the floor.

            "Cecelia, if you walk out that door with those… those… those monstrosities, there won't be anything here for you when you come back." Mark called out to her as the three made their way to the door, the whole emergency room still staring at them in awe. Dr. Reyes stopped to answer him eye to eye.

            "If I finish out my shift tonight, will there be anything here for me to come back to tomorrow?" She asked earnestly. When Mark stared at her blankly, she got her answer. She sighed and turned back to Betsy and Scott. "And we're not monstrosities… we're evolution."

*          *          *

            "Where's Gambit?" Rogue snapped at Pietro as he emptied the sack of medical supplies on the Professor's desk in his office.

            "Rogue--" Xavier tried to diffuse the situation.

            "No!" She shouted, tossing the old man aside. "Speed Demon… where is he?"

            "I don't know, okay? Chill out, Rogue." Pietro spat back.

            "Whaddaya mean, 'you don't know'? Where did you leave him?" 

            "He mighta been arrested." He answered meekly.

            "Arrested?!" Rogue followed Pietro as he went to sit down on the sofa in front of the fire place.

            "Look, it was either me or him, and I could get here with the stuff faster."

            "You or him?" Rogue said, confused.

            "Yeah, yeah. They had me in cuffs, he busted me loose and took the fall." He said, ashamed anyone was able to catch him. "What's the Acolyte to you anyway?"

            "Pietro--" The professor finally managed to interrupt them just as Rogue was about to open her mouth to respond. "Do you think he's alright?"

            "I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "Looked like he could handle himself to me."

            "Alright then. Rogue, we'll go down to court in the morning once they open and post his bail. There's nothing we can do for him now." Rogue nodded abysmally. "Pietro, did you get everything we need?"

            "Everything that was on the list… it's all there." He answered.

            "Great. All we need is--"

            "One fire proof doctor coming right up!" Scott announced as he walked in, Betsy and Dr. Reyes following behind him.

            "Where is he?" Dr. Reyes asked.

            "He's on the couch in the front lobby." Xavier informed her. "As soon as you flip on a light switch, it's going to blow." Cecelia nodded tiredly as she looked through the supplies on the desk.

            "What am I doing, brain surgery?" Cecelia joked. When she looked around, everyone tried hard to avoid eye contact. "You didn't say it was going to be _brain surgery!" She shouted at Scott._

            "You can do this, Cecelia." The professor encouraged her. She looked at him as if he were crazy. "I'll stay in telepathic contact with Hank and relay everything he says to you and vice versa, he'll talk you through it." As Cecelia nodded, she managed to talk herself into believing she could do it. "Rogue, perhaps you could borrow Pyro's power to try and keep the flames from engulfing the mansion." She nodded, still angry about leaving Remy behind. "Scott, get Logan to stick around. He can get anyone out of the fire if need be." He nodded as well. "Betsy, Get Peter and tell him it's time for his assistance. And get Kitty, Kurt, the rest of the Brotherhood, and all the other students and wait outside." She nodded too. As Scott and Pietro left the room, Xavier and Cecelia left too, but Betsy stopped Rogue.

            "What?" Rogue asked coldly.

            "You know I'm not mad at you, right?" Rogue rolled her eyes and told Betsy telepathically it wasn't her who had the right to be angry. "I'm sorry, okay?"

            "Okay." Rogue said, relenting her frustration, trying to avoid falling into the same trap as her friends. 

            "Where's Remy?" Rogue sighed at Betsy's question.

            "He's probably in jail." She spat bitterly.

            "What?" Betsy asked in disbelief.

            "Ask Speedy Gonzales out there." Rogue said. Betsy just looked at her, speechless. "Betts, I gotta go clear my head t'fill it with a whole lotta crazy." Betsy smiled at her as they walked out of the room.

            "Good luck." Betsy said, as they went different directions down the hall. Rogue just waved a gloved hand in thanks.

*          *          *       

            Dr. Reyes trembled as she stepped closer to Pyro laying on the sofa. "Um… you…" She called to Lance who was sitting on the coffee table in front of Pyro.

            "Lance," He said. "My name is Lance."

            "Right, Lance" Cecelia sighed. "I need you to leave, it isn't safe." Lance nodded as he stood up and left. He grumbled at Colossus who was in armored form, waiting to assist Dr. Reyes.

            "_Cecelia, how are things going?" Xavier tested out their mental connection._

            "_I don't know what I'm doing." She thought back._

            "_Don't worry, Cecelia, Hank knows what to do." She sighed and took a deep breath. Rogue moved away from Colossus's side and pulled off her glove._

            "What are you going to do, exactly?" Dr. Reyes asked her.

            "With this one little finger, Ah'm gonna do more than science ever could." Rogue leaned in to touch Pyro's face, when Dr. McCoy shouted a warning to her.

            "Wait!" Cecelia yelled, startling Rogue. "I need him conscious."

            "You're gonna operate on his brain while he's _awake_?" Rogue asked, disgusted.

            "There are no nerves in the brain… he won't feel anything. If I operated on his brain while he was unconscious, I could hit something and not know it, and he could wake up a paraplegic. This way, if I hit something, I'll know in enough time to fix it." She explained.

            "Just hurry up and do it!" Pyro shouted, clutching his pounding head. Rogue gently placed a hand on Pyro's face, absorbing his power and a few of his memories. Dr. Reyes looked at each of her assistants to make sure they were ready.

            "Rogue, you have to keep the flames away from--"

            "I know." Rogue barked. "It hurts, just fix it!" She felt Pyro's pain. Cecelia took one more deep breath before she flipped on the light switch. All the lights in the room went on for the first time in hours. The light bulbs all buzzed under the stress Pyro placed on them, uncontrollably, as he writhed in pain. Almost simultaneously, every single bulb snapped, bursting into flames, causing Cecelia's force field to kick in. The flames held the shapes of tortured souls thrashing about in agony as if they were trying to escape a firey hell, reflecting Pyro's suffering. The roaring made it sound as if they were crying and moaning. Dr. Reyes regained her bearings as Hank gave her instructions. She took a hypodermic needle filled with anesthetic off the tray Colossus had to protect. She walked the through the flames Rogue was trying to keep from reaching the ceiling, toward Pyro on the sofa, and gave him the shot in his head. She gave herself a pep talk as she tried to prepare herself mentally for the trial in front of her as she waited for the anesthetic to take effect.

            "You still with me, Pyro?" She asked him.

            "Ungh… John…" He moaned. "Yes…"

            "Alright, John, this going to try to relieve some of the pressure on your brain. Don't be afraid of the bone saw, alright? If you get scared, you'll go into shock, and I need you to stay with me." She said calmly. He couldn't nod, but he put one his hands over the one she had placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling her to go on. Colossus emerged from the conflagration at Cecelia's side. She picked up the bone saw and turned it on. Rogue could hear it through the flames she was fighting against. The sound triggered something in her brain.

            Sinister stood over her with a bone saw. She could feel everything as he placed it to her head. The pain began to overwhelm her and she started to have a panic attack. She fell to the floor, clutching her head. "Stop it!" She shouted. She started to hyperventilate and inhale great amounts of smoke. "Stop it… it hurts!"

            "Rogue? What's wrong?" Cecelia asked, trying hard to stay focused on Pyro.

            "Ah… Ah… Ah can't breath." She wheezed as her eyes began to burn.

            "Rogue, I need you to calm down, you're going to inhale too much smoke."

            "Ah… Ah can't… Ah can't."

            "Get her out of here." Dr. Reyes said to Colossus. He handed her the tray and went to the other side of the room, scooping Rogue up in his hot-to-the-touch metal arms. He carried her outside and set her on the front steps where all the other students had been waiting.

            "What's wrong?" Betsy asked as everyone stared at Colossus and Rogue. He shrugged his shoulders. Rogue was finally able to breath in fresh air, and began to calm down.

            "Ah can finish." She said to Colossus.

            "It would be best if you stayed out here." He replied. One of the windows beside the front door blew out. Rogue waived the flame back as Colossus went back inside to help Dr. Reyes.

            "What happened?" Kitty asked as she sat next to Rogue on the front steps.

            "Ah don't really know."

*          *          *

            "Hand me the catheter." Dr. Reyes ordered as soon as Colossus came back inside. He ran to the sofa and plucked the long blue tube off the tray she'd balanced on the arm of the couch. She inserted it into the hole she'd drilled in Pyro's head. She acted swiftly, almost as if she knew what she was doing. "Still there, John?" She asked.

            "Mmm-hmm" He grumbled. She performed the operation as she received instructions from Dr. McCoy, traveling at the speed of thought. Everything he knew was at her complete disposal, and everything she saw there was as if he were observing the operation himself. The flames danced wildly over her since Rogue was no longer there to hold them back. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she could feel the heat of the fire, but sustain no burns. Her toughest task now was to finish the operation without the tools melting. She finally snipped out the infected part of his brain. It had swollen and was putting pressure on the rest of his brain. Once she removed it, the flames started to die down.

            "How ya feelin', John?" She said calmly, relieved to no longer having to compete with a roaring fire. He began to breathe deeply, not having to cringe under pain.

            "Rather sweet, mate." He finally said. She breathed a sigh of reprieve as she looked at Colossus.

            "Everything working okay?" She asked.

            "Far as I can tell." Pyro responded groggily.

            "Okay then, I'm just going to sew up this little hole and then I'll let you rest."

            "Wait a minute." He said. Cecelia was instantly alarmed. "Did you cut my hair?" He asked. Cecelia sighed again.

            "It was either that, or gettin' crazy orange hair inside your brain."

            "Guess I should just go join the Morlocks now." He grumbled. Cecelia just smiled at him as she shook her head. 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

And you all thought I would let Pyro die!!! ;-P


	23. Chapter 23

Ooooh another chappie!! Sorry it took a little while to post… early decision app for NYU is in!! whoa, take a breath…. Ok. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!!! Keep 'em comin'!! One more thing.. did everyone have a great halloween?? Lots of candy I hope! (Here's a tip, don't go see Scary Movie 3, it's really stupid. Instead, you can review my story!!) 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            

            "French fry, you made bail." Was Gambit's wake up call. He sat up with a terrible headache. The prison guard unlocked the jail cell and walked away. He sat up on the flat bed and stretched a bit from his uncomfortable night's sleep.

            "Good morning, sunshine." He was surprised to hear Betsy's voice.

            "Where's the prof?" He asked groggily.

            "He wanted to wait until Pyro woke up to make sure he's alright… but I didn't want to wait." She answered. He slowly got up and walked toward her, out of his cell.

            "He alright?" Gambit asked.

            "Probably." Betsy nodded. Gambit smiled slightly, but they both refused to look each other in the eye. "The telly room on the other hand… not quite so fortunate." 

            "Where'd you get th' money for my bail?" Just as Betsy was going to open her mouth to explain, Angel joined them just inside the doors of the police station. Gambit was surprised by his appearance, but Warren refused to acknowledge it.

            "I spoke with my father on the phone." He informed both Remy and Betsy, but spoke mostly to Betsy. "He and the District Attorney were roommates in college. He said he'll have the charges dropped."

            "Brilliant." Betsy said.

            "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot." Warren said, clearly addressing Gambit. "Warren Worthington III." He said as he extended a hand to him.

            "Remy LeBeau." Gambit reintroduced himself as he shook Warren's hand.

            "Really? LeBeau, huh? Cause I just paid Kurt Wagner's bail." Warren smiled. Betsy's jaw dropped open as she looked at Remy.

            "I got a couple a outstanding warrants back home…It'll get expunged." He explained to Betsy. "I don't know how t' thank you, Warren."

            "Just consider it a loan to be paid in good deeds." Warren replied snidely. "Piece a cake, right?"

            "Warren…" Betsy chided him. "We need to get back."

            "Alright, I'll call you later." Betsy nodded as they kissed goodbye. Gambit rolled his eyes.

            "Thanks Warren…" She said as she sauntered out of the police station, pulled by Gambit. They walked down the street, still too hotheaded to look at each other. 

            "I'm sorry I yelled at you." Remy caved.

            "Good. You should be." Her callousness made him regret his decision. "Listen, you can't get angry at me for my thoughts. If I can't vent there, then where am I supposed to?" He finally looked up from the sidewalk and over at her. "But I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I ever thought to doubt you." She paused for a moment. "And I've been doing a lot of thinking… I never really doubted you at all, not really. I know you're a hero. I wouldn't have invested so much in you if I didn't know. It's just that…" She paused again to try and compose her thoughts into coherent sentences. "You know the little engine that could?" He nodded, curious of the relevance. "Well, the little engine never would've made it up the mountain if instead of 'I think I can.' She'd told herself 'I don't deserve to.' You know what I mean?" He was suddenly struck with a moment of clarity. He nodded and put his arm around her shoulders. After a moment or two of awkward silence, he began patting at his sides. Betsy giggled and tossed him a pack of cigarettes. "Looking for these?" He smiled as he took them, but kept patting his pockets. Betsy then tossed him his lighter. 

            "You got really good at that pick pocket stuff, huh?" Remy said, lighting his cigarette.

            "Well, I learned from the master… I never did thank you for that." Betsy said. "Sinister wouldn't have ever seen me as anything more than a test animal if I didn't have some of your skill.

            "I know." Gambit sighed. They walked silently for a moment. He put out his cigarette after only a few puffs. 

            "What you did last night… that was really heroic." He scoffed at her.

            "It's a relief to hear that, cause I thinkin' 'bout what you said the whole time." He said facetiously. Betsy just looked at him as if he were crazy. "All I could think about was mon frère." He answered honestly.

            "Good." She smiled. "You know, I think you can write the worth of one life off that debt of yours."

            "I'm sick a debts… they ruin your life." Betsy squinted at him in confusion.

            "What was your debt?" She asked. "What was worth the massacre?"

            "Nothing." He mumbled under his breath. "It wasn't worth it." She looked at the ground, knowing that pursuing the subject was futile. They walked silently the distance back to the mansion. When Remy walked in, he was dumbfounded by the charred remains of the front foyer and rec room. The kitchen, to the other side of the stairs, was left remarkably untouched. "Mon dieu…" Remy muttered.

            "Shhhh!" Betsy said. "Everyone is still asleep."

            "Not everyone." Wolverine said, walking toward them from the kitchen. "Gumbo, I wanna talk to you." Remy looked to Betsy for an explanation, but she had none to offer, so she walked carefully up the soot covered stairs, praying the weakened wood wouldn't give beneath her. 

            "I'm going back to bed." She announced.

            "Sweet dreams, p'tite." She smiled back at him, then continued on her way. Remy turned around and walked back out the front door, lighting another cigarette. Logan followed him out.

            Remy put the cigarette to his mouth for a second puff when Logan smacked him on the back of the head, ripped the cigarette from his lips, tossed it on the ground, and stomped it out. "You don't get to do that." Logan explained. Remy just sighed and sat down on the front steps. "Welcome home, kid." Remy just chuckled coldly.

            "'Welcome home'…not a phrase I'm used to."

            "We're workin' on it, Cajun… just gotta give us a chance." Remy shook his head.

            "Wherever I call home… they always want somethin' from me. Steal from that guy… break these people in here… slaughter that race of innocents… fight for some crazy ideal I don' even know if I believe in."

            "Home sweet home, ain't it, bub?" Logan sympathized. "This place is different. It grows on you, these people become your family… if you let them. That idea becomes less and less crazy once you see the alternatives--"

            "I've seen the alternatives… fought for all of 'em. This is just the lesser of so many evils… We shouldn' have t' fight at all." 

            "No, we shouldn't." Logan finally sat down on the steps next to him. "If you don't wanna fight, Gumbo, you don't have t' fight. We can't force you to do anything… it's always your choice."

            "Not if I want this place t' be my home... damned if I do, damned if I don't…Catch 22…" He sunk his head between his shoulders. There was an awkward silence again.

            "Home is where the heart is." Logan said it because it was a trite maxim with the word "home" in it. It sounded helpful, although in this context, it really had no meaning.

            "My heart is sleeping upstairs." Remy smiled. Logan smiled too.

            "Like I said, kid, welcome home."

*          *          *   

            "Rogue… you're awake already?" Betsy said as she walked into the bedroom to see Rogue, sitting on her bed, writing in her notebook.

            "Oh, yeah." She responded, looking up from her writing. "I'm waiting for the prof to get done with Pyro so we can go get Remy out of jail… where ya been? It's almost 9:00 and I woke up just before 7:00 and you weren't here. That's, what? 3 and half hours of sleep?" Betsy smiled as she shook her head.

            "Ten steps ahead of you… he's down stairs."

            "Who?" Rogue was confused. Betsy stopped in the middle of putting her PJs back on, and looked at Rogue as if she were stupid. "Remy?" Rogue concluded. Betsy nodded. "Why didn't you take me with you?" Rogue shouted excitedly as she jumped off the bed and primped. 

            "I wanted to talk to him." Betsy said wearily, her three hours of sleep catching up with her.

            "Did it work?" Rogue asked. Betsy nodded as she climbed into bed. "Good. Sleep tight, Betts." Betsy grumbled as she quickly fell asleep and Rogue slipped out of the room.

*          *          *

            When Betsy next opened her eyes, she found herself in a big, dark room. She could see no walls or ceiling, only an eerily illuminated hardwood floor beneath her feet. She sat in her X-Men uniform tied to a large, leather arm chair, by pink bands of energy across her legs, arms, and chest. After orienting herself for a second, she began to look around feverishly for a way out, thrashing against her restraints.

            "Calm down, Elisabeth." She heard frighteningly familiar voice call out to her. She stopped looking around for the source when she heard high heels clicking on the floor behind her, making their way in front of her.

            "Miss Frost." Betsy mumbled as the woman revealed herself, standing in front of Betsy in all her white, innocent, beauty.

            "'Miss Frost'…" Emma repeated, rolling her eyes. "Please, love, we can drop the formalities. Besides, 'Miss Frost' sounds so witch like…" She said looking off into space, tapping her bottom lip with her index finger, sarcastically seeming pensive.

            "Only makes it more fitting…" Betsy muttered bitterly.

            "What did you say?" Emma said calmly as she tightened the bands holding Betsy down with her mind.

            "I'm not dreaming… am I?" Betsy asked, writhing as if she were a mouse being constricted by a snake.

            "Well…" The restraints loosened as the subject changed. "Technically you are, but I'm altering your dreams so your conscious just not… awake." Emma smiled.

            "What do you want with me, Emma?" Betsy finally asked.

            "'Me me me' it's always about 'me', isn't it?" Emma scoffed.

            "No, darling… _you_ always seem to steal the spotlight." Emma looked at her with utter hatred as the pink bands began digging into Betsy's skin.

            "You think I'm self-centered, do you?" Emma shouted. "After all I've done for you, teaching you to use your powers, taking you in after your parents died as if you were my own, looking the other way when you began selling our secrets to STRIKE?"

            "Only because you _murdered_ my parents. They gave you everything we had… what more did you want… _my brothers?" Betsy forced out in defense as she cringed._

            "A little 'thank you' would have gone a long way." Emma said as she turned around and walked away from Betsy, releasing the tightening hold of the energy bands.

            "A little anything doesn't get very far with you, Emma." Betsy said, gasping for air.

            "Even now, love, you don't respect what I do for you." Emma sneered.

            "Now? What have you done for me now?" Betsy said, frightened. Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes.

            "You've become too comfortable in that body you ripped off that Asian girl… poor thing, and you let her die." Emma said coldly.

            "How do you know about Kwannon?" Betsy shouted. Emma knowingly hit a nerve.

            "Oh please, Nathaniel Essex and I have always had a very close, working relationship. For example, all he had to do was give me a few age-defying modifications, and you were his for the taking."

            "But he came to me." Betsy said as her conception of her past fell to pieces.

            "No, love, I led you right to him."

            "But--"

            "You're missing the point anyway, Elisabeth dear." Emma put her hands on the arms of Betsy's chair and lowered her face close to Betsy's nose, interrupting her before she could get a word in edge wise. Betsy stared her in the eye, confused. "Flap your wings, butterfly." Emma whispered. For the first time, Betsy realized she was a body in the astral plane, not a butterfly. She was her normal, Japanese self.

            "What have you… how did you--" Betsy said frantically as she tried to pull herself free again. Emma smiled as she stepped back.

            "Well… I didn't do it… I couldn't have… but it was _my_ idea." Emma folded her arms. "I had a friend help me out, a new protégé, if you will. Since you've been gone so long, I decided it was time to take a new mind under my wing." Once again, Betsy looked at her, confused. Suddenly, a squawking bird of flames hovered above the two. It came down out of the abyss as if it wanted to prey on Betsy, wrapping its wings around her. She braced for impact. Then the bird began to dissipate. Betsy first opened one eye to see if the coast was clear, then she opened the other. She trembled as she looked up at Emma. Jean was now standing by her side, dressed all in black leather, contrasting with Emma's pure appearance.

            "That was fun, my queen." Jean giggled.

            "Instilling fear in others is always fun, my dear." Emma said, both her and Jean eyeing Betsy as if she was a bug in a jar.

            "Jean, what are you doing?" Betsy finally uttered. Jean looked back at her, perplexed.

            "Not Jean, Phoenix." She responded.

            "I know we've had our differences, but I can't stand to see Scott pine for you--" Emma stomped her foot and the restraints tightened around Betsy squeezing her harder than any of the times before, cutting her off mid sentence. 

            "Scott?" Jean muttered, ignoring Betsy's suffering. "Scott… I know that name… It makes me feel… lonely."

            "Phoenix--" Emma said, interrupting Jean's train of thought. "Why don't you hold the reigns on our friend for a little, see how _that_ makes you feel." Jean smiled like a little girl as if her mother just let her have a piece of candy. Emma stepped out of the way as the firey Phoenix flared up around Jean again, goading her on as she pulled the restraints around Betsy. She giggled maniacally as she derived a sick pleasure from Betsy's torture. "And this isn't all, Elisabeth darling. This is just a warning." Emma hissed in the background. Betsy flexed every muscle in her astral body. It hit her then, that one can't feel physical pain in the astral plane. Her realization caused her to lose focus. As she relaxed, the chair around her broke under the tension of the energy bands. Betsy hit the floor with a thud to find herself sitting straight up in bed.

            She heaved from the sudden abandonment of her pain and was once again startled to hear a few bottles of perfume and makeup fall off Rogue's dresser and onto the floor. Startled by the noise, she looked up to see Remy perched on the bureau.

            "Scared the crap outta me, Betts." Remy explained. "You alright?" She nodded in the dark bedroom like a deer caught in headlights.

            "What time is it?" She whispered, surprised to be back home. Remy looked at her concerned, then glanced down at his watch.

            "'Bout 2:30." He said.

            "2:30…?" She counted on her fingers. "That's about 17 hours." She calculated.

            "Plus 24." He added.

            "What?"

            "You went to bed _yesterday_… well, th' other day, technically." She stared at him blankly. "It's Tuesday mornin', Betts." She was still having an out of body experience as she looked down at her clammy hands in her lap. "The prof. went in t' look for ya a couplea times, but he kept gettin' blocked."

            "It only felt like a few minutes." She said in a amazement. Remy was worried.

            "What happened, Betsy?"

            "I'm just… gonna go wash my face." Betsy said, having halfway not heard him. She felt her hair plastered to her head. Remy watched her suspiciously as she got up from the bed and walked out of the room like a zombie. He climbed off his perch from watching Rogue sleep and followed Betsy to the doorway, and watched as she walked down the hall toward the bathroom. Once she had disappeared, Remy ran off down the corridor in the other direction.

            Betsy stared at her face in the mirror above the white porcelain sink. She shut her eyes and opened them up, half expecting to see her old self. She wanted to see her thick, blonde hair and fair skin, her narrow, chiseled jaw and blue eyes. Instead, she stared at her dark brown face and flat nose, her thin, brown eyes, and pulled her long purple hair back into a pony tail. She cupped her hands under the running faucet and pressed her face into them. She dumped the water in the sink and took a deep breath as she watched it swirl down the drain. She did this a few times, constantly screaming at herself to do something, to go after Emma, and hit her with a mental grenade. It seemed as though she couldn't hear herself as she was running on auto pilot. She picked up the hand towel beside the sink and dried her face. She saw herself in the mirror and was confused by the markings all the way down her upper arms. She ran her other hand over them, feeling the tenderness of deep, purple bruises. She lifted up her white tank top and saw them across her chest. She dropped the towel and lifted up the legs of her black satin PJs and saw the same bruises around her ankles, all the way up to her knees. Each one corresponded with a pink band from her "dream". Hit with another earth shattering brick, she walked out of the bathroom, dazed. She quietly walked down the hallway and into Kurt's room. She pulled a cigarette and lighter out of Remy's drawer. She stopped on her way out to see Kurt sleeping peacefully, then continued on her way. She walked down the hallway, down the newly re-enforced staircase, and out the front door.  She felt relieved by the rush of cold, late autumn air against her sweaty body. She crouched on the stoop, bringing her knees to her chest, and put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it. She puffed on the cigarette as she stared off into the dark night sky. 

            "Betsy?" The professor approached her calmly, wheeling up beside her in his green silk PJs. "Are you alright?" She was asked again. She stared up at him blankly as Remy crouched down at her other side, watching the cigarette tremble between her fingers. Betsy silently looked away from Xavier, and resumed staring off into space.

            "What happened, Betts?" Remy projected his concern, hoping it would snap her out of her fog. She merely looked at him with the same glazed eyes as she had the professor.

            "I've been violated." 


	24. Chapter 24

Ok guys, here's another chapter… the plot thickens!! Sorry it's been so long, I've been out of town. But thanks for reading and reviewing, as always!!

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *                        

            "Betsy, you must calm down, your mind is racing." The professor said calmly. "Tell us what happened."

            "Emma." Betsy mumbled. "The White Queen."

            "Who?" Xavier was still confused.

            "Miss Frost… she has the Phoenix." She explained, choking back tears.

            "Jean? She has Jean?" The professor tried to clarify. Betsy nodded as she put her head into Remy's chest as they sat in the study, with Rogue on her other side as emotional support. Remy put an arm around her shoulders and looked at Rogue, needing emotional support as well.

            "It's worse than I thought." Betsy said, sitting up. "She's using Jean's powers to manipulate mentality as well as reality." The professor cocked his head to the side, once again confused. Remy held up her arm, revealing the bruises. For the first time, the professor realized the severity of the situation, and the great power she had tried to warn them of.

            "Ah'm not sure Ah understand ya… Ah thought the astral plane was just the mind." Rogue said, perplexed.

            "It is." Xavier answered. "If you know which pain and pleasure buttons to press, you can make someone feel things, but it's impossible to inflict harm directly to the physical body… or so I thought." They all sat in silent, solemn fear as no one knew what to say next. "What exactly is your relationship to Miss Frost?" The professor finally asked Betsy as she planted her chin on top of her clenched knees.

            "I don't really want to talk about it." Betsy mumbled. Xavier looked at Remy and asked him telepathically if he knew anything. Remy confirmed by looking over at Betsy for permission. She nodded and put her forehead to her knees so she wouldn't have to look at anyone as they heard her life story.

            "When Betsy's powers first came about, nobody knew anything about mutants an' she couldn' stop hearin' people's thoughts." Xavier nodded as he steepled his fingers under his chin. "Her parents were well connected in London… to th' Hellfire Club." The name made Betsy shudder.

            "The Hellfire Club?" This piqued Xavier's interests. Remy nodded.        

            "They started out in London, but moved to New York when they got disbanded by the gov'ment."

            "Why were they disbanded?" Rogue asked as she listened carefully.

            "They got caught riggin' a parliamentary election. They front as an elitist social club, but the Inner Circle, usually 'bout four or five people, they're bent on world domination." Remy explained.

            "World domination?" Xavier repeated in horror. 

            "Emma is their White Queen." Remy nodded. "Betsy's parents promised everything they had to her – no small amount, by the way – if she would help Betsy with her powers. When Betsy had control, the Braddocks wanted to pull out and try n' rebuild the family but Emma wouldn' have it, so she had Betsy's parents killed and 'raised' her. Once Betsy's inheritance ran out, Frost has no use for her anymore and traded Betsy to Sinister." Xavier and Rogue were both moved by the story. "When Betsy's parents were murdered, their connection to the Hellfire Club came out and the case was investigated by a special task force of British Intelligence called STRIKE. They recruited Betsy as a telepathic informant on the Inner Circle. When Frost found out, she went crazy and uncapped some a Betsy's internal mental inhibitors. Not only could Betsy not stop the thoughts, but she couldn't tell what was happenin' now, and what had yet to happen. It's what got her to agree to go to Sinister in the first place." 

            After a few moments of pensive silence, Betsy sniffed from her 'hiding place'. Xavier instructed Rogue to take her up to bed, and Remy followed. "We'll talk about this sometime, Betsy." He called after her as they all left. She merely nodded, ashamed, and continued on her way.

*          *          * 

            "Wow." Rogue said as she sat in her bed in the dark, listening to Betsy as they talked about anything and everything, openly and honestly.  Betsy curled up into a little ball on her bed, out of lack of any cohesive response. "An' Ah thought my life was bad."

            "Thanks." Betsy grumbled facetiously.

            "How come you never told me any of that b'fore?" Rogue asked, offended Betsy had held back on her. 

            "I dunno." Betsy shrugged her shoulders. "I never wanted you to feel sorry for me like you do now."

            "I don't feel sorry for you." Rogue lied.

            "Right." Betsy grumbled again as she climbed under her covers. Rogue clicked off her light and began to get comfortable. "Will you wait up?" Betsy interrupted her. 

            "For what?"

            "I'm afraid to go to sleep. What if she… I mean, can you just wait till I go to sleep?" Betsy muttered like a little girl.

            "You're still sleepy? You just slept for over a day and half."

            "It didn't feel like it… please? Rogue, I'm deadly tired." Betsy started to cry again.

            "Alright, Alright." Rogue said. "Just calm down." Betsy lay down in her bed as Rogue clicked on her light and began writing in her notebook. She felt it difficult to write uninhibited some of people's most personal memories while Betsy stared at her. She tried to ignore her hoping she would get bored and quickly fall asleep. After about 20 minutes or so, Rogue no longer felt Betsy's gaze, and couldn't purge anymore raw emotion onto a page. "Betsy?" Rogue whispered. "Betsy, you still up?" When Rogue didn't get a response, she decided it was safe to leave. She carefully placed the notebook and pencil down on the bedside table and tip toed out of the bedroom. As soon as she clicked the door shut, she turned around and walked down the hall toward Kurt and Remy's room. She opened the door and saw Kurt sleeping like a log, oblivious to the world around him. She was disappointed, however, to see Remy's bed still made, with no sign of him. 

            "Lookin' f'r somethin'?" She snapped around to see him standing directly behind her.

            "Ah was… but Ah found it." She smiled. 

            "What's on yo' mind, chère?"

            "Ah wanna talk." She sighed as she stepped out of the bedroom, back into the hallway, and shut the door behind her.

            "Uh-oh… What'd Remy do this time?" he mumbled.

            "Nothin'. Ah just wanna talk." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Why? Is there somethin' Ah should know about?" She put her hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation.

            "No, no… let's go up on th' roof, watch the sunrise." He smiled.

            "That is so cheesy." Rogue said. "You just wanna smoke, don't you?"

            "Part of it." He shrugged his shoulders. "We won't have to whisper." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't refute his logic. She grabbed his hand and led him down the hall to Kitty and Jean's room. "Kitty sleeps heavily." She explained. "We won't wake her."

            "What about the witch?"

            "Oh right, Wanda. Ah don't know about her. Ah guess we'll just have to take our chances."

            "Ooohh… a challenge." Remy's eyes flashed. Rogue smiled at him as she opened the door. They walked softly inside and attempted to cross the bedroom to the window. They nearly made it home free, when Rogue tripped over one of Kitty's platform shoes in the middle of the floor. Wanda's nose began twitching, causing the lights to flicker on and off. The two stopped dead, afraid the Scarlet Witch would wake up and zap them, or go crazy with rage as they both knew she could. Finally Wanda calmed down and went back to a seemingly peaceful rest. Remy helped Rogue off the floor when Wanda sat straight up and sneezed, causing the lamp to go on, and stay on. Kitty moaned and phased her head through her pillow to avoid the light. Wanda grumbled as she had to get up to turn off the lamp. She got up and turned it off, then got back into bed half asleep, when she noticed Remy's eyes glowing.

            "What are you doing in here?" Wanda mumbled. Neither Remy nor Rogue was certain if she was awake, or walking in her sleep. 

            "Nothing Wanda, jus' go on back t'bed." Remy answered, hoping she would think she was dreaming. Luckily, Wanda merely nodded, then laid back down. Remy and Rogue smiled at each other as they finally got to the window. Remy opened it and gestured for Rogue to go out. "Ladies first…" He bowed.

            "Ladies first, or flyers first?" Rogue whispered.

            "How 'bout this, Rogue. You go first, or I'll push you." Remy retorted.

            "Wow, you really need that smoke, don't ya?" She crossed her arms.

            "You have no idea, ma chéri." He grinned widely, showing his impatience. She smiled and stepped on to the window ledge. Then she took another step off, hovering just outside the window. Remy then stepped on the ledge, and Rogue took his hands. He stepped off the window sill and it took Rogue a second to regain her balance. Then she carried him up over the roof and set him down gently. She gracefully landed beside him. They both sat down and Rogue scooted closer to him.

            "Ah keep forgettin' Thanksgiving is only a couple a weeks away." She said, referring to the cold air. 

            "Yeah." Remy said, lighting his cigarette, then taking off his coat and putting it around her shoulders. She reveled in the warmth it had from his body. They were silent for a moment as the sky became a pale, dawn blue. "What's on yo mind, chère?" Remy finally asked.

             "Can Ah try a smoke?" She said, surprising him. He knew it wasn't what she wanted to talk about. He thought she was trying to be flirtatious though, and Remy never passed up the opportunity to flirt.

            "S'bad for your health, Roguey." He warned her.

            "So're you, but that don't stop me." She smiled.

            "You won't like it." He warned again.

            "Let me decide that." She said as she grabbed the cigarette from his hand. She put it to her lips and sucked in. She instantly began coughing and handed it back to him. "That's disgusting." She said, gasping for fresh air.

            "I tol' you." He said, smiling as he pat her back.

            "Why does anyone do that a second time?" She asked, regaining control of her lungs.

            "To find out why anyone would do that a second time." He answered cryptically.

            "Whatever." She scoffed, unsatisfied with his response. She put her head back down on his shoulder and they both watched the sunrise in front of them. Rogue was starting to nod off to sleep at the rhythmic sound of his heart beat when he interrupted her.

            "What's got ya worried, Rogue?" She was surprised he could sense her anxiety, but then she remembered his empathy.

            "It's this whole Phoenix/Emma Frost crap." Rogue admitted. "Betsy had to be one of the strongest people Ah knew, but now, she's so scared outta her mind… it's like she's afraid of the monsters under the bed. This warning Betsy got… How bad could it be? Ah mean, Ah know what she _could_ do, but what _would_ she do?" Remy sighed and tossed the cigarette butt off the roof as he tried to explain to Rogue the severity of Betsy's 'dream'.

            "Y'know, Betsy thinks I helped her out in the pens, back with Sinister, 'cause I thought she was the prettiest one." He paused waiting for a sarcastic quip, but didn't get one and continued on. "An' I let her think that 'cause I know she don't like pity. But truth is, I felt sorry for her. Betts had everything in the world, and she was grateful for it. She loved her momma and daddy, an' even her brothers. She appreciated everythin' that woman was doin' for her. And Frost just got greedy an' took it all away. That woman is evil, Rogue. No tellin' what she'd do, or how far she'd even dare t'go. It all depends on how much she thinks is enough."

            "Remy, quit scarin' me." Rogue muttered as she wrapped her arms around him.

            "I can't promise you I can keep you safe, Rogue. As foolishly arrogant as I am, I wouldn't lie to you like that. I can promise that if anythin' ever happens t'you, I'll die tryin' to save you. An' I can promise you, that right now, while we're t'gether, _I_ ain't ever felt safer in my life." He said, trying to be of some comfort.

            "Well of course _you'd_ feel safe. Ah can punch through a brick wall." Rogue looked up at him and smiled. Remy looked down at her, their faces only inches apart. 

            "If you think about the future too much, you live your life in fear." He explained seriously. "Right now, all I see are your divine green eyes." With that, he slowly leaned in to kiss her, and she closed her eyes to wait for him.

            "Ooohhh, sentimental moment?" Toad popped in right bedside them, interrupting them. "Kiss! Kiss!" He shouted, making kissing gestures at Rogue.

            "You plant those filthy lips a yours on me, and Ah won't be the only one covered in slime!" She shouted as she pushed him on the shoulders, knocking him back on the ground. "But Ah will be the only one hopping away." 

            "I dunno… You'd be surprised." He grumbled.

            "What d'you want, frog legs?" Remy growled bitterly.

            "I bet my legs look pretty tasty to you, don't they, frenchie?" Toad said.

            "I'm Creole, fly breath… what do you want?" Remy reiterated.

            "Man, Wolverine wants to see you out front." Toad said as he stood up, dusting himself off.

            "Why?" Remy barked.

            "How should I know?" Toad shrugged his shoulders.

            "Why'd he send you?" Remy interrogated him. Rogue's 7th sense was tingling as she carefully watched their exchange. Remy picked up on it and grew very suspicious.

            "Man, I dunno. All he said was if I didn't come get you, he'd skewer me." Finding nothing too out of the ordinary, Remy acquiesced to go with him.

            "Here, take this." Rogue whispered to him as he stood up, handing him his bo staff and a deck of cards she'd fished out of his coat pockets.

            "What for?" He whispered back.

            "Just in case." He nodded and slipped them into his pants pocket. "Ah'll be waiting for you right here." Rogue said aloud. 

            "I'll hurry back, then." Remy said as he followed Toad back into the house.

            Rogue sat there alone for a second, waiting to make sure no one would pop of nowhere, as they had before. She opened her clenched first to reveal the black vial Remy had kept in the inside pocket of his trench coat. She held it up, analyzing it for a way to open it.

            "Looking for answers, Rogue?" She jumped, shocked to hear anyone, then clenched the vial in her hand to hide it as she snapped around to see someone vaguely familiar standing over her.

            "Vertigo?" Rogue identified her cautiously.

            "In the flesh."

*          *          *

            "Alright, frog face, what's goin' on?" Remy said as he was followed by Toad out on the front to steps only to see Wolverine wasn't there. "Where's Logan?"

            "Oh… he's around." Toad said maniacally. Remy turned around, confused, just in time to catch Toad morph into Wolverine and push him up against the brick wall beside the front door.

            "Oh, I get it. Back from the dead, huh Mystique? Have a bon voyage? Take a lot a pictures?" Remy smiled sarcastically, making her angry. 

            "Keep your slimy, grifting hands off my daughter." Mystique growled as she held up her hand that wasn't holding Remy against the wall, and extended mock claws that touched the tip of his nose. 

            "I ain't afraid a those little flesh things." Remy flicked the claws with his fingers; and in one fluid motion he whipped out his staff, knocked her hand back and swiped her feet out from under her, whacking her to the floor. He held the charged staff at her throat as she morphed back into herself. "Keep your evil, self serving hands off my girlfriend. You come near her again, and I'll kill you, lady." She scoffed at him, defeated. "Now get outta here b'fore I call the real Wolverine an' he carves you up into several different cuts of meat." Just then, they could hear the gates at the front of the driveway open and a taxi began to drive onto the property. Gambit quickly uncharged the staff, retracted it, and put it back in his pocket. Mystique morphed into a cat and ran off into the woods.

            "Oh, Remy. It's nice to see your back." Storm forced out bitterly as she emerged from the taxi along with Cecelia and Hank.

            "You too, Stormy." Remy said, halfway ashamed as they all placed bags around his feet. "I'm sorry 'bout what happened to your nephew." Remy mumbled as he went to the trunk of the car to help with suitcases. Storm stopped and sighed. 

            "I forgive you, Remy. My nephew, on the other hand, probably won't be so compassionate. Besides, it's the Morlocks you're going to have to own up to the rest of your life."

            "I know." Remy muttered, hoping to move on.

            "Well, you can take my bags up to my room. I'm going to take a bath." She said, still harboring some ill will.

            "Anything for you, my weather goddess." He said, trying to flatter her into forgetting his sins.

            "You can take mine too." Beast said as he and Cecelia walked back into the house. "Dr. Reyes and I are going to check on Pyro."

            "Uh, sure…" Remy said. Once he was alone outside, and the cab had driven away, he turned around to carry Ororo and Hank's bags inside. A large flock of birds flew out of the woods and one broke off from the group, coming straight toward him. "I thought I told you t'get outta here!" He shouted at it as his red eyes flared up. The bird landed on the rail on the steps and grew into Mystique, just as he knew it would.

            "Whose plane is that back there?" She ignored his demand.

            "Plane?" Remy asked. Mystique huffed as his ignorance and morphed back into a cat. She ran off into the woods again and Remy followed her. Once they were deep into the trees, Remy could see the plane. He stopped for a minute to look it over, and the bottom dropped out of his stomach. He approached the plane and removed some brush to reveal the familiar red 'SX' symbol he'd grown to fear. Remy glared at Mystique, more afraid than he'd ever been before.

            "What is it?" She asked as she became herself once again.

            "It can't be." He mumbled as he double checked the insignia to make sure he'd seen it correctly. "He promised me."

            "Who?" Mystique grew frustrated.

            "Essex."

*          *          *

            Hank and Cecelia were in the Med Lab checking Pyro over thoroughly. Dr. McCoy looked at his blood in a microscope while Dr. Reyes performed a physical examination.    

            "Alright, John, just follow my finger with your eyes." She directed him.

            "You know, I was really sick that night. Don't know what I was thinkin'." Pyro said as he did what he was told. "You should really go back to callin' me Pyro." She just smiled at him and shook her head. "Hey, Beast, what'd you bring your favorite patient back from Scotland?" Dr. McCoy just looked up at him from the microscope, smiled at him, and went back to his work.

            "He taught me how to perform the surgery that saved you life. Good enough for ya, goofball?" Cecelia answered for him.

            "Oh… right. Thanks." Pyro mumbled.

            "Okay, can you say your ABC's backward for me?" She continued with the mental portion of the exam to make sure there was no internal damage.

            "Can't hardly say 'em forward, much less backward." He smiled sarcastically.

            "Try." She said. Pyro did as he was told and began to recite the ABC's backward.

            "Oh my stars and garters." Hank mumbled as he looked into the microscope. Pyro and Cecelia both instantly grew worried.

            "What? What is it? Am I gonna die?" Pyro shouted nervously.

            "No…" Hank said, smiling at Cecelia. She was suspicious as she approached Hank. He gestured for to look into the microscope. She brought it in and out of focus several times to make sure she was reading the slide correctly.

            "It's not there." She mumbled in disbelief.

            "What?? What's not there?" Pyro yelled, demanding to be clued in.

            "The virus." Dr. Reyes said, not looking away from the microscope. "It's gone."

            "Dr. Reyes…" Hank said. "I do believe you found the cure for the Legacy Virus." She finally looked up, not sure she heard him right.

            "I did?" She asked "How?"

            "Well, you must have botched the surgery. I performed it hundreds of times back on Muir Island, but it never produced these results."

            "Botched my surgery?" Pyro asked for details, but he was ignored by the scientists.

            "You must've cut out a gland that produces hormones that exacerbate the illness." Dr. McCoy continued. "We'll need an MRI to be certain, but Dr. Reyes… I do believe you've cured the Legacy Virus."

            "Oh my God…" Cecelia muttered, finally grasping the scope of her actions. "I did, didn't I?" The Beast wrapped her up in a blue, furry hug and lifted her up off the ground as they congratulated each other. 

            "Excuse me!" Pyro finally managed to interrupt them. "Excuse me, but what do I get out of all this?" 

            "You, Mr. Pyro Allerdyce, you are the first soul to have the Legacy Virus and live to tell the tale." Dr. Reyes explained.

            "It's Saint by the way, not Mister… but I guess I'll go with that." He said meekly.

*          *          *

            "What do you mean you've got answers?" Rogue asked the blonde and green haired mutant she could swear she saw crushed in a city sewer cave in.

            "Well, you ask me a question… any question at all, and I'll answer it." Vertigo explained simply.

            "How did you survive… after the massacre and the Phoenix?" Rogue inquired skeptically.

            "Easy. I didn't." Vertigo shrugged her shoulders. "None of us did. Next question please."

            "What are you doing here if you're dead?"

            "I'm not dead, I'm a clone." Vertigo asserted, offended. "He replicated my body, my memories… it's as if nothing ever happened. I'll be able to live forever this way. Dr. Essex is a great man."

            "That's not what Ah hear." Rogue said. She wanted to back away, but was strangely intrigued by the other girl.

            "Well, you've only heard from the ingrates." She grumbled. 

            "Ingrates Ah happen to know very well, and trust very much… why should Ah trust you over them?"

            "What we're _all_ trying to tell you is hearsay anyway… not even admissible in a human court. You should see it for yourself." 

            "What're you talkin' about?" Instead of answering, Vertigo knelt down on the ground in front of Rogue and pulled a bracelet out of  a pocket on her boot. "What is that?" Rogue said, not able to take her eyes off of it.

            "Surely Phoenix and Cyclops told you all about their power negation collars… You even saw it work on Essex himself. This is just slightly more fashionable." Vertigo explained.  

            "You mean that thing'll shut off my powers?" Rogue asked in awe as she stared at it.

            "You can touch him anytime you want for as long as you want." Vertigo nodded. "A man who offers such control can't be all bad, can he?" Rogue didn't respond, still enthralled by the bracelet. She put up a hand to take it, but stopped. "Go ahead, try it on." Vertigo handed it to her. Rogue looked at it, examining it very closely. Then she slipped it on over her hand. She admired it on her arm for a second, then found a small red button and pressed it. She felt a tingling sensation warm over her body. She wasn't sure if she had created the feeling in her mind, or if it was an indication her powers he been restricted. Rogue then looked back up at Vertigo. "Go on, take it for a spin." She said as she extended her bare hand to Rogue. Rogue stared at her hand, skeptical for a minute, then took off her glove. She hesitated as she went to touch Vertigo's hand. After a few brief moments of nothing, Vertigo grew impatient and grabbed Rogue's hand.

            "Hey! Wait a--" Rogue stopped when nothing happened. "But how…"

            "See. I told you." Vertigo said. Rogue smiled at her newfound freedom.

            "Wait a second, what's the catch, what do Ah have to do?" Rogue said, finally snapping back to reality. Vertigo smiled as she rolled her eyes.

            "Well…" She started.

            "It isn't worth it, is it?"

            "That all depends…" Vertigo said cryptically.

            "No. Ah won't do it, keep your stupid--"

            "I was afraid you might say that." Vertigo said, activating her power. Rogue suddenly got nauseous and dizzy and couldn't figure out to get the bracelet off. She tried to use her super strength to pull away from Vertigo, but she had no powers. Slab appeared behind her, and caught her as she started to stumble to the ground. Rogue was too sick to resist. He flung her over his shoulder, then she threw up as she passed out.

            "Uggh… Slab, look what she did!" Vertigo hissed, pointing to the vomit on her shoes.

            "Sorry." Slab said, unsure of how he had failed.

            "Quit yer bitchin', Vertigo. Let's get out of here." George said, sitting on the other side of the roof. He stretched his legs down to the ground, forming a slide for the others to escape on. Gambit and Mystique made it up to the roof just as George was shrinking back down to the ground. They watched as the plane took off and flew away. Remy picked his coat up off the ground and found the black vial beneath it. He clenched in his hand and grew so angry, he began to charge it. He quickly remedied the situation and put it back in his pocket.

            "Sinister…" Gambit growled.  

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**sipf@charter.net – Thanks for going into your e-mail, looking up my e-mail address, and all that BS just to write me a review!! I had no idea I wasn't accepting anonymous reviews. I don't know how to accept them though. I e-mailed fanfiction support, but I never got a response. **

**If anyone knows how to accept anonymous reviews, please tell me!!!**

**Amanda14 – Thanks so much!! You raise several good points. I noticed I've been neglecting Carol Danvers, and I hoped none of you guys would. But never fear, I'll be addressing all of that soon! And as much as I wish I could take credit for Cecelia Reyes, nope, she's an actual character from the comics. I'm not a big fan of OCs, so I would never put one in my stories. And yeah, there is a lot going on, big villains… but stay tuned, more to come!!**

**Ishandahalf – Thanks always for your consistent, positive reviews. Keep 'em comin' quick like a bunny on crack! (Yay for Romy shippers!!)**

**DemonRogue13 – Short, sweet, and positive. Thanks!!**

**_And to everyone else, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Keep the reviews comin' and I'll answer any questions you may have!! _**


	25. Chapter 25

Yay!!! Another chapter closer to the big finale!!! Hope you all enjoy this one… it's going to take a while for stuff to actually start happening again, but bear with me, it should be really really good. Would I give you anything less? Thanks so much to Ria who told me how to turn on anonymous reviews. I'm not absolutely sure they're working; I didn't review my own story to check. So anyway, if you haven't been reviewing, NO MORE EXCUSES! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!!

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            "Miss Braddock?... Miss Braddock?... Betsy!" The teacher shouted.

            "Hmm? Oh. The square root of negative 16. Uh… 4i." The whole math class giggled at her as she read from her math book.

            "That's lovely, but it seems 13 questions have passed during your little nap." The teacher said.

            "Oh. Sorry." Betsy mumbled, still half asleep.

            "Why don't you go to the nurse's office? I'll talk to you after class." 

            "Okay." Betsy said as she gathered her things and left the room. Some of the popular girls still giggled at her as she shut the door behind herself. She would have said something to them, but she was much too sleepy to care. As she walked down the hallway, she wavered from side to side, finding it difficult to reopen her eyes every time she shut them to blink. After a few feet, she gave up and pressed her back against the wall, and slid down to the floor, with her knees in the air in front of her. She folded her arms over her knees and put her head down. She started to drift off to sleep when she heard a chanting that had plagued her dreams… only this time, she was awake.

            "The time is upon us." A faint voice whispered in her ear.

            "Do not let them see you cry." Another said. "Do not show them you are weak." Betsy was afraid to look up. She thought if she could ignore them long enough, they would go away. But that never worked, not since that night Emma had visited her.

            "No! I can't go!" The voices continued. "I am fit!"

            "The weak must never be a burden to the strong." Betsy started to hum "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to herself to shut the voices out, but the cries, the moans, the screams, they had kept her from her sleep. But she refused to let them take over her life.

            "Help us!" This one sounded as if it were screaming right in her ear. She wouldn't let herself react, still trying to ignore the voices. "Before it's too late." Betsy couldn't help but jump from the floor as a hand reached out from the wall behind her and touched her on the shoulder. She was certain she had screamed too, but must have imagined it since no one came out to check on her.

            "Time is running out." Betsy spun around to see where the voices were coming from. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the large wall, usually peppered with homecoming posters and chess club reminders, covered in hieroglyphics.

            "Who are you to decide who is weak?" One of the hieroglyphs whispered. Betsy watched as the stiff, rigid figures carved into the wall came to life to explain their meaning to her. She watched as large glyph sitting in a throne laughed as he directed four smaller ones in a battle against a small army, each one carrying a mark on their foreheads. The four swiftly and violently defeated the army, then split into armies themselves. They flew through out the many levels of the carving like a swarm of locusts, killing and devouring all those without the mark on their head. The rest secretly cried in agony as their loved ones were ripped away. They were forced to join the army, or were killed.  Betsy looked at the carnage and pressed her back up against the opposite wall, trying her hardest to distance herself. She wanted to get involved, but she didn't know how. As the war raged on outside, the glyph on the throne continued to laugh as the pile of broken bodies grew beneath him. His soldiers forced all the others to bow at his feet. Those who refused were added to the pile. Blood began dripping down the wall from the dead figures. The voices kept crying out for Betsy to help. Once she had managed to remove herself from the scene, looking at them like a violent movie on TV, she went to touch it. The people reached out to grab at her finger tips, but she ignored them. She gently touched the wall, and pressed her palm against it. Much to her surprise, their entire world began to crumble like brittle ash and fell to the floor.

            "Hey Betts!" Kitty shouted as she as she walked out of the ladies room, snapping Betsy back to reality, making her jump again. "You really looking forward to the football game on Friday or something?"  Betsy stared at her blankly, in awe, then looked back to the wall, only to see a poster advertising for the football tournament game under her palm. "Don't you have class now?" Kitty asked as she sat down on the floor behind a pile of books. 

            "I got sent to the nurse's office again." Betsy explained, finally reeling from the grotesque vision she had witnessed.

            "Wow, for someone who can't sleep during the day, you sure do sleep a lot at school." Kitty joked. 

            "You get any word from home yet?" 

            "You mean the team out looking for Rogue?" Betsy nodded. "Yeah…" Kitty slurred as she looked at the floor and thought for a moment. "They went to that place outside Seattle, where we found you, and the place had been abandoned. There's no sign anything 'sinister' ever existed." Kitty glanced over at Betsy to see how she was going to react. Betsy just looked down at the floor, tired and defeated.

            "I don't know where else he could be. The professor searched my brain for anything I might've picked up subconsciously, but I really don't know anything else."

            "Betsy, chill out. Nobody's blaming you for anything."

            "I know." Betsy finally sat down on the floor next to Kitty.

            "Are you okay? I mean, I know you've been having nightmares and stuff, but you're really acting weird… y'know?" Betsy sighed. She knew what Kitty meant. "Maybe you should talk to Miss Frost… about… y'know…" Betsy perked up at the thought, surprised Kitty would even mention what happened to her, but she was actually forced to briefly consider it.

            "No. It isn't her. It just all happened around the same time." Betsy shook her head. "Just a coinci--" She stopped dead, a light bulb going off in her brain.

            "A what?"

            "It's not…" Betsy's eyes rolled around in her head, trying to form her thoughts clearly.

            "It's not what?" Kitty was utterly confused.

            "It's not a coincidence, Kitty, the Phoenix and the hieroglyphics." Betsy forced out as the pieces all fell into place.

            "The hieroglyphics in your dream?"

            "It's not a dream… I just had it again, but I was awake." Kitty was still clueless. "It was a vision." Betsy finally explained. Kitty was beginning to wrap her mind around Betsy's train of thought. "They came at the same time because…" Her mind was moving faster than her mouth could spit the words out. "The army can win with the Phoenix… we can defeat Apocalypse."

            "Wait a minute…" Kitty was having a hard time absorbing Betsy's words and listening to new ones at the same time, but Betsy jumped up and started running down the hallway. "Wait a minute!!" Kitty shouted after her.

            "Time is running out, Kitty. I have to go!"

*          *          *

            Gambit's leg bounced impatiently as he sat next to Wolverine in the black bird. He stared out the window waiting to catch a glimpse of anything familiar.

            "Cut it out, kid, you're makin' me nervous." Wolverine grumbled at him.

            "Sorry, mon ami." He said back. "Lemme ask ya somethin'."

            "What?"

            "Am I th'only one who don't buy Mystique's story?" Gambit whispered.

            "You mean the one about how she woke one morning in the middle of nowhere without knowing how she got out of those crumbled stone pieces?" Wolverine asked sarcastically.

            "So it ain't jus' me, then?"

            "Not by a long shot. But she's so desperate to find Rogue, she's working _with us. We don't want to alienate her." Wolverine explained._

            "What if she knows somthin'?"

            "What makes you think she knows something? You may be empathic, but Mystique's been hardwired not to show _anything_."

            "You underestimate me." Gambit smiled. "Why you think she's so desperate t'find her…? Mebee 'cause she lost her…?" Wolverine sighed with no sarcastic comeback.

            "If she knows anything about Rogue, she would've told us. But if I find out she's lyin'… I'll help her morph into a blue chopped salad." He growled.

            "Why don' we interrogate her or somethin'? I mean, if we find out she don' know anything, it's not gon' make her any less of a help than she is now. Whatever information she may or may not have, she obviously knows she can't find her without us." Gambit paused for a second to let Wolverine consider his logic. "What if she's tryin' t' push us in a certain direction? Whatever direction that maybe, she wouldn' be doin' it if she couldn't say to Rogue 'look who found you.'" The last point caused Wolverine to telepathically ask the professor whether or not he should approach Mystique.

            "_At your discretion, __Logan__. Do what you must." Was his response. Wolverine unbuckled his seat belt and moved to sit next to Mystique, who was staring out the window, in the only empty chair on the plane._

            "What do you want?" She spat venomously at Wolverine.

            "I've got some questions… about how you got here."

            "I told you all before… I don't know. I woke up somewhere in the middle of the woods, morphed into a bird and flew here." She barked for the millionth time.

            "Which direction did you fly?"

            "What?"

            "If you didn't know where you were, how did you know which direction to fly?" Wolverine asked calmly, infuriating Mystique even more, not being able to gain the satisfaction from his frustration as well.  

            "I just… did." She trailed off as she looked back out the window.

            "I may not be able to read your mind, but I can smell a lie from a mile away." He responded.

            "Maybe you should have your nose checked." Mystique grumbled.

            "Look, all I'm saying, is that if you know anything, it might trigger something in the recesses of these kids' minds." Mystique just scoffed at him, refusing to give in. "Okay, we've got nothing to go on past this. We can't use cerebro until she uses her powers. We know Sinister can build a psi-proof fortress, so we probably wouldn't be able to find her even if she did use her powers… assuming she even can."

            "Alright, alright." As much as she tried to ignore them, Mystique's motherly instincts got the better of her. "Sinister brought me out of those stone pieces. I don't know how he did it, and I don't wanna know. He had his goons drop me off in the woods behind the mansion. He said all I had to do was distract the Acolyte. I didn't know he was gonna take Rogue. If I did, I probably would've taken her myself."

            "So when you said you didn't know anything about the plane--"

            "I lied." She stated simply, before he went on any further. "I'm good at that." 

*          *          *

            "Professor?! Professor?!" Betsy shouted as she ran in the mansion.

            "Betsy?" Cecelia interrupted her, coming to the front door from the hallway that led to the med-lab. "What are you doing home from school?"

            "I have to speak with the professor." Betsy said, surprised to see only the doctor. "Where is he?"

            "The team's not back yet. Is everything okay?"

            "I really need to speak to the professor." Betsy repeated, brushing her off.

            "Well… there's cerebro…" Cecelia suggested, trying her best to help. Betsy just looked down at the floor, frustrated.

            "I'm too tired." She mumbled. 

            "You can go lie down in the med-lab. Pyro's bored out of his mind, I'm sure he'd enjoy the company. I'll let you know when they get here--" Dr. Reyes tried to be accommodating. Betsy nodded and walked down the hall to the med-lab. She opened the door to find Pyro sitting on his bed flipping through channels on the TV fixed to the ceiling across from him.

            "Bonzer!! A real, live, living person with whom to interact!!" He lit up when he saw Betsy, making her blush slightly. She smiled as she dropped her book bag and climbed on the bed next to him.

            "How's it going?" She asked.

            "Going? You mean time's still moving forward?"

            "Too fast, I'm afraid." She chuckled at him.

            "Looks like you've come to the right place then."

            "How are you feeling?" Betsy said, trying to move the conversation forward.

            "Alright, I guess. I get a pounding headache every now and then, but mostly the stitches itch like mad. But oh no, I don't dare scratch. That damn doctor always comes in here and smacks my hand. I swear, she's gone half an hour, I just barely reach my hand back there, and she runs in to smack my hand. She must be a teleporter/telepath or something. I dunno how she does it. It's like she's watchin' me around the corner, waiting for me to do it! There is no peace in here, I've decided." Betsy smiled as she shook her head at him. "It ain't so bad though. Wanda and Avalanche come in here every afternoon after their danger room sessions."

            "They're doing quite well." Betsy said. "They're progressing with their powers, I mean."

            "Yeah, yeah. I just wish the Kitty-Kat would get interested in Lance again so he'd leave me an' Wanda alone for a while. I been tryin' t'get Wanda t'give her a nudge."

            "Hey!" Betsy said, offended. "Kitty's been trying real hard to stay away from Lance… you know it wouldn't work out, and they'd both be depressed all the time."

            "I don't care. Just 20 minutes, once a day, that's all I ask for." Pyro pleaded.

            "What about your powers?" Betsy said, changing the subject.

            "Good as new!" Pyro shouted with glee as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket. Hit lit the lighter and formed the fire into a heart. He waved it toward Betsy and she smiled as it dissipated. "It kinda hurts after a while." He said, nursing a throbbing in the back of his head. "How 'bout you, sheila? Why are you confined to the sick ward?" 

            "I'm crazy." Betsy mumbled, not wanting to go into it any further.

            "Join the club." Pyro chuckled. Betsy just smiled at him. There was a moment or two of awkward pause as neither had anything else to say. "Hey what've I been missing at school?" Pyro asked.

            "I don't really know." Betsy shrugged her shoulders. "I've been sleeping through most of it, myself. If you really want to know, though, you should ask Kitty. She'll leave out no detail."

            "Life's too short." He said, brushing off her suggestion. "You all are really close here, aren't you?" he said, out of the blue. "You really look out for each other."

            "Well, I don't know how good a job we've doing lately. People keep getting kidnapped. But we try."

            "I don't even see why you go out there." He said as he folded his arms.

            "Go out where?" Betsy was thoroughly lost.

            "Well, at first I couldn't understand why you'd leave Mags and come here with all these kumbaya sheep that follow Xavier around, drooling with their jaws open. But after being here a week and a half or so, it just feels like putting on a warm blanket after being out in the cold." Betsy smiled at his conclusion. "But why you would ever leave to go out there and fight for those bloody wankers that don't give you the respect you deserve as a higher evolutionary?" Betsy quickly got angry with him.

            "I don't understand how you can call yourself a 'higher evolutionary' when you feel that you have to resort to something as primitive as violence to get your point across. It's obviously not solving any of your problems."

            "Prommie." Pyro sneered at her snobby attitude.

            "Codger." Betsy mumbled back. Insulting each other in British colloquialisms.

            "Betsy, you wanted to see me?" Xavier said as he rolled into the med-lab, announcing his presence. Betsy and Pyro were both shocked to see him, afraid he'd seen the way they had behaved. Once Betsy decided he hadn't seen anything, she sat up. 

            "Yes, it's very important." Betsy said as she slid off the bed and walked out with him, leaving Pyro alone in the med lab.

*          *          *

            "No doubt, a war is coming." The professor said over his steepled fingers to the assembled party before him. The X-Men all sat in awe as they considered the severity of their task and possible solutions. 

            "Well, whatever we do, we're gonna need Jean." Logan stated the obvious.

            "But how are we gonna get her on our side?" Kitty asked. "You said Miss Frost kept her on, like, a pretty tight leash."

            "We could try an' appeal to the Hellfire Club." Remy proposed. Betsy shook her head.

            "They have to know what's going on. They probably have their own agenda in this." 

            "Like what?" Kurt said, disgusted.

            "It's not unlike the Hellfire Club to lull their superiors into a false sense of security, then usurp their power. It's how Emma got to be Queen." Betsy explained. Silence befell the room again when the thought hit the professor. Betsy was listening very astutely, and looked up at him to see him staring at her. They both looked over at Scott. It took a moment before he felt their gaze on him.

            "Me?" Scott shouted, drawing the attention of everyone else from their thoughts. "What can I do?"

            "Your connection with Jean." Storm concluded.

            "But you said it yourself, Betsy. I thought Jean wasn't there."

            "No she wasn't… until I said your name. She had to stop and think… she said it made her feel lonely." Betsy clarified. "Mentioning you made the Phoenix feel Jean's feelings. Maybe seeing you again will give Jean the strength she needs to take over the Phoenix."

            "Scott, your emotional connection with Jean is one that transcends normal mental limits. It's something I could never hope for with anyone, not even with my first student whom I consider a surrogate daughter." The professor pleaded with him. "If nothing else, you must try. The fate of the world depends on you."

*          *          *

            "Pyro?" Wanda called out as she went into the med-lab. When he didn't respond, she called again. As she approached his bed, she saw him there, resting peacefully, but she decided to wake him up. "Pyro…" She called quietly. Still no response. "Pyro?" She said in a normal tone as she sat down on his bed, growing suspicious. She shook him gently. He rolled over, moaning with vomit on his face. "Pyro!" Wanda shouted, bursting the halogen light bulb over her head out of fear. "Dr. Reyes!" Wanda yelled as she ran into the office. "Dr. Reyes--" She stopped when she saw Cecelia passed out on the floor encased in her force field. Cecelia moaned as she began to regain consciousness. Wanda knelt down to help her sit up as the force field retracted. "Dr. Reyes, what happened?"

            "Ung… Infinites." She groaned.

            "What?"

            "Infinites. A group. One of 'em started talking and I got so dizzy, I must've blacked out."

            "Stay here." Wanda said. "I'm gonna go get Xavier." Wanda helped Dr. Reyes to a bed, and ran up stairs, meeting Lance and Toad in the hallway.

            "What's the rush, sweet 'ums?" Toad smiled, showing off his pearly… yellows. Wanda scoffed at him, not having the time to shut him up.

            "Dr. Reyes and Pyro." She said. "Someone busted in and made 'em both sick." Wanda explained. Lance grimaced with anger.

            "C'mon." He said, leading Wanda and Toad down the corridor to the professor's study. He balled his fists causing the house to rock on its sturdy foundation, throwing the doors open. Everyone inside was startled to see him.

            "Mr. Alvers, how can I help you?" Xavier said calmly.

            "What have you done to him?" Lance shouted as he ran toward Beast.

            "Just a minute--" The professor tried to diffuse the situation. Colossus armored up and stepped in front of Lance, blocking his path.

            "Get outta my way metal mouth before I--"

            "Make me do a hula?" Colossus interrupted him.

            "Lance, just calm down and tell us what's going on." The professor tried again. Wanda and Toad watched Lance in stunned silence from the doorway.

            "You wanna know what's goin' on? That one is getting' kicks from testing on my friend. I knew we couldn't trust you." Lance pointed around Colossus's side at Beast, making accusations. Hank was caught off guard and confused,

            "Hold your ungrateful tongue, rock tumbler, or I will crush your bones to dust. The X-Men only wish to help." Colossus glared down at him.

            "Pyro and Dr. Reyes are sick." Wanda said again as she interrupted. "Dr. Reyes said they were 'infinites'."

            "'Infinite'? What's an 'infinite'?" Kitty asked. Wanda just shrugged her shoulders. 

            "How do people keep breaking our security system?" Kurt said. Betsy and Remy just looked at each other, ashamed.

            "Not as hard as you'd think, mon ami." Remy mumbled.

            "Not if we've shown them." Betsy added. Everyone followed the professor out as they went to go survey the damage in the med lab.

*          *          *

            "Definitely looks and smells like the work of your friend Vertigo, Betsy." Logan said to her as she watched everyone milling around and putting things back where they belonged.

            "Well of course it is. Since I'm not around, she's the only one who can knock people out without damaging the property." Betsy sneered.

            "This is so degrading." Pyro grumbled as he wiped his face clean.

            "Shut up." Wanda smiled as she handed him a clean shirt.

            "Anything you say." He smiled back.

            "Are you alright?" Hank asked as he gently examined Cecelia.

            "I'll be fine… I think." She answered, still partially dazed.

            "Hank." Storm drew his attention by pointing toward a corner of the med-lab where a curtain had been pulled back, revealing a disheveled bed with medical implements strewn about. 

            "Carol." Hank gasped as his jaw dropped open. As he ran to the site, he looked around for any clue of what happened, or where the comatose woman could have gone, or why she'd been taken. He wanted to do something, but he was so frustrated, all he could is roar.

            "Carol? Is that the blond bird that's been sleepin' since before I got here?" Pyro asked anyone who might be able to answer his question.

            "Carol is sleepin' 'cause she touched Rogue for too long. Her powers haven't gone away and she obviously hasn't woken up. At first, Rogue was so guilty every time she used her powers, she'd have to throw up. The prof. put in some blocks and she barely remembers it… so we don't really talk about it." Remy explained.

            "Ahh… is that why ole' baldy goes in there every afternoon?" Pyro was finally getting the picture.

            "Yes…" Logan grunted bitterly as Pyro insulted his mentor.

            "Oh." 

            "Hank, calm down… what's happened?" The professor said, finally making his way inside the ransacked sick bay.

            "The Nasty Boys or the Marauders or the Infinites or whoever they are… They broke in for Carol. She's gone."

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**Rogue151 – Awww… that soooo made my day. But hey, I aim to please, right? I'm glad you liked the events of the last chapter; hope this one lives up to everything you've come to expect! I hope this chapter came soon enough!**

**Ishandahalf – More and more twists!! Yeah, everybody is so angsty, but you wouldn't want to read a story about a bunch of adversity-less bubble heads, would you? And I've got a question for you: Just how quick is a bunny on crack??**

**jess and ria – like I said before, thanks a million, sorry you had to go into your e-mail and everything, I know it's a bitch, but I really appreciate it. I'm glad you like the story, but it is about time you review… shame shame. Keep reading though!!**

**The Rogue Witch – Yeah, that was silly, wasn't it? I'm glad you're getting hooked on my story, addiction is _always good    ;-P. You're right, Beast and blob do need some lovin'… do you read Ultimate X-Men? If not, you should, it's awesome, but that just makes me feel even sorrier for both of 'em!!_**

**Aro – I know how you feel; my house is the Arctic Circle. If it's the last thing you ever do with your fingers, I'm glad it was reviewing my story!**

**Gothic Cajun – Thanks, I'm glad you like it!! Keep reviewing and I'll keep posting!**

**Sofi – I'm a fan of Jonda too. I'm a Romy shipper to the very core, but I do like Jonda. I've got a little in here; hope it's enough for now. Next chapter will be Jonda-licious!! Thanks for e-mailing me again, but the problem oughta be fixed, so you shouldn't have to. But thanks!!**

**Andi – Thanks for going into your e-mail just for me!! I'm glad you've been keeping up with the story, and I'm glad you finally reviewed!! Like I've said a million times to everyone else, anonymous reviews should be working now, and I better get a ton of 'em. But if I don't, that's okay too… I guess. Thanks again though!!!! **


	26. Chapter 26

Yay!!! Nine reviews, I think that's a record for me, all thanks to the anonymous reviews… once again, thanks Sofi and Ria. And of course, thanks all of you, my loyal readers who waste their time reading my sad, pathetic, superhero fantasies. I'm glad you like it, cause I don't really write for you, but I **_keep_ writing for you!! This chapter is riffed with Jonda… and some Jott… and PHOENIX!! I love the Phoenix, those are my favorite parts of my story. I hope you all enjoy, and keep reading and reviewing!!!**

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            "I don't know if I want to do this." Scott hesitated as he sat in a chair beside the professor at the cerebro console.

            "I understand, Scott, and I can't make you do anything. It is always your choice." The professor tried to comfort him.

            "But if I say, 'no', you'll guilt me into it, right?"

            "It is my duty to the world to do so." Xavier smiled. Scott forced a brief curl to the corners of his lips, but sighed at the same time. "I will use cerebro to augment your thoughts as much as possible. Now, I can't enter the mind of the Phoenix myself, but if you call to her, she may respond." Scott nodded. "If you feel you need to stop for any reason, just imagine yourself home, and you will be." Scott nodded again as he closed his eyes.

            He found himself flying through space faster than any roller coaster he'd ever ridden before. The wind blew over his face and through his hair. He rather enjoyed the ride, being able to forget his troubles and responsibilities to the world for a few moments. He had lost himself in the refreshing liberation when he hit an invisible wall. He fell and landed on a wooden floor that wasn't there only seconds before. He nursed his head and shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck when he heard a chilling voice behind him.

            "Why have you cried out for me?" He snapped around to see Jean standing over him clad in black leather, her voice cold and empty.

            "Jean?" He said as he stood up. She only stared at him, but he was so relieved to see her face again for the first time in so long, he ran to hug her. She waved her hand and he hit another invisible barrier between them.

            "The one you call 'Jean Grey' no longer exists." She said distantly.

            "That's not true." He said, regaining his ground after another hit. "I can feel her struggling inside you. She's scared… and alone." The Phoenix cringed at his words, having to fight back feelings and morals flaring up within her. She grew angry at Scott and waived her hand again, flinging him against another invisible wall, but this time she held him there.

            "Why do you make me feel these feelings?!" She shouted. "I derive no joy from your pain."

            "Because you love me… and I love you." Scott said, fighting for air as his chest was pressed up against the wall behind him. He was held securely in place, but the pressure kept coming, trying to flatten him. The Phoenix looked up at him, his words piquing her fascination.

            "Love?" She mumbled as she walked closer to Scott, releasing some of the pressure she was applying to his ribcage as she held him against the wall. "What is… love?"   

            "'Love?' Scott said as searched for words. "Love is a special feeling…" as he spoke, he wanted to vomit under the cheesiness, but couldn't think quickly enough to say anything else. "It's when you would do anything for someone to make them happy… just to see them smile."

            "You mean like generosity?" Phoenix said as she lowered Scott to the ground. "Emma tells me how generous she is all the time. She and Sebastian let me stretch out my powers on real, sentient people instead of worthless, unresponsive dummies."

            "No…" Scott sighed, relieved to be on the same level with her, and no longer feeling as if an elephant were sitting on his chest. "Generosity is doing something for someone else because it makes _you_ feel better, and while that doesn't make it any less noble… it's just not the same. Love is more than that."  The Phoenix looked at him, intrigued. "Love is disregarding your own pain and suffering just so the person you love doesn't have to feel an ounce." The Phoenix clenched her teeth and rubbed her head as if she had a headache, but wouldn't let it interfere with her learning.

            "But why would anyone sacrifice their own pleasure to willingly feel pain for nothing in return?"

            "Because when you love someone, seeing them in pain hurts you worse than anything anyone could ever do to you." Scott said calmly, all his feelings of loneliness and fear that he'd bottled up since Jean took off were rushing to the forefront of his mind. He was concerned by the Phoenix as he noticed her her head was hurting her.

            "But… why?" Phoenix was now holding her head and bending over in pain under some kind of pressure on her brain. She attempted to pretend as if nothing was wrong, but her struggle was now obvious. "Why… her…?"

            "I don't know." Scott said, slowly approaching her to try and help her. "You don't choose the people you love." With that, The Phoenix dropped to her knees, clutching her head and writhing in agony as she fought with her mind.

            "But I don't… I don't… I don't underst--" Phoenix was cut off as she let out a blood curdling howl and the flamed bird emerged from her body. It shrieked and rapidly disappeared as she fell further onto all fours. There was a moment of an eerie calm where neither she, nor Scott, moved a muscle. Then suddenly she looked up at him.

            "Scott?" Jean asked, making sure she could believe her eyes. 

            "Jean!" He shouted with joy as he saw her eyes light up and her voice fill with emotion. He quickly knelt down on the floor to help her up when she leapt into his arms. He sat down on the floor next to her, enveloping himself in her familiar smells, while they embraced. 

            "Oh, Scott, I love you too." Jean mumbled into the crook of his neck. "Don't leave me alone." She cried.

            "I won't, Jean. I won't. I promise." They both sighed with relief and elation, then Jean looked up at him.

            "Scott, something's wrong. The Phoenix… she feels amusement and gratification in hate and destruction… she hungers for it." Jean said, exasperated. "I can't hold her back much longer." Scott pulled off his ruby sunglasses to look her in the eye.

            "Don't tell me what you can't do." He whispered to her. She smiled at him and hugged him again. "We need you, Jean. The world needs you."

            "Scott, I need _you_." She said.

            "I'm here."

            "Well you shouldn't be." Scott and Jean looked at each other, confused, then up behind Scott where they'd heard the foreign voice come from. The two were shocked to see their intimacy cut short by Emma standing over them. In her surprise, Jean slipped and the Phoenix quickly took her over again, orange beams of light shooting from her eyes and mouth. The force of the Phoenix taking her body again knocked her back, leaving her disoriented. "You can't have her. She's mine. It's her destiny." Emma said, ignoring the phenomena they'd just witnessed. She glared angrily at Scott and held her hand up, curling it into a fist. Scott's mental projection of his mind responded in kind. Emma chuckled maniacally at him as he balled up in the fetal position, his body imploding on itself.

            "Stop this." The Phoenix said as she regained her balance. She stood up and threw both Scott and Emma against two opposing invisible walls on either side of her. "His pain is no fun." She explained to Emma, who writhed against her unseen restraints holding her against the wall. Then the Phoenix turned to Scott, once again cold and vacant. "What do you need of me?" She asked.

*          *          *

            "You all must learn together as one. Anticipate each other's moves and respond accordingly." Xavier ordered from the control center of the Danger room as the X-Men and Brotherhood battled a simulation together.

            "I can't believe we're takin' orders from the X-Men." Quicksilver whined as he carried Magma out of harm's way.

            "I can't believe I'm letting you put your hands where you've got 'em." She huffed back. Colossus knocked a large metal orb out of the way that was heading straight for them.

            "Seriously, yo. All this trainin' and workin' sucks. Who signed us on for this?" Toad said with a lisp as he used his tongue to pull himself on top of one of the laser guns hooked into the wall, in order to stay out of their line of fire. He shrieked like a little girl when another gun from across the room locked on to his body heat and fired at him. He hopped off his perch and the shot hit the gun he was on top of.

            "I did." The Scarlet Witch said, hexing a laser gun that seemed to have it out for her. "They said they needed an army." She explained.

            "Never thought I'd say this…" Gambit said as he plucked a metal ball, that Blob had been shielding them from, off the ground. "But y'all talk too much." He charged the ball and threw it at a robot walking up behind Pyro. It exploded, alerting Pyro to its presence.

            "Honestly, you're one t'talk, mate." Pyro said instead of 'thank you'.

            "All of you, shut your mouths." Wolverine said as he sliced up another droid and added it to his pile.

            "You must remain focused." Storm said as she fried another gun.

            "Hey, Storm, juice me!" Berzerker shouted from the center of a circle of droids. Storm struck him with a lightening bolt, he absorbed the electricity, and blasted it back out at the robots, overloading them. He cheered at his own skill, not noticing another round clopping up behind him. Avalanche clenched his fists and made quick work of them.

            "We do fine on our own." He growled, using his latest actions as an example. A square in the floor opened up and mechanical tentacles reached out for him, picking him up by the ankles and swinging him around in the air. Shadowcat ran after him and dove through the tentacles. They died and Lance fell on the floor.

            "You know what?!" As all the weaponry in the room had been handled, a hush fell over the arena as Wanda shouted angrily. She was so furious an electro-magnetic pulse began radiating from her body, knocking everything back, man and machine. "If you guys wanna be lackeys your whole lives, that's fine with me, but _I won't have anymore of it!!" Everyone just stared at her as she walked toward the door. When it didn't open for her, she waved her hand ripped it out of the wall, letting herself out. The professor and Mystique, up in the control room, took this moment of distraction to point out the students' flaw. Suddenly, every intact droid, shorted out or not, stood back up. Every gun that had not been ripped out of the wall poised and locked on their targets. And every projectile that lay on the ground, once again took flight. The metal floor beneath them turned to sand and began blowing about with the aid of strong gusts of wind._

            "Whoa, when did they learn to do that?" Nightcrawler said.

            "What do we do now, fearless leader?" Toad said to Cyclops as all the students backed into the center of the room.  

            "No worries, mate. I'll melt these things before they know what hit 'em." Pyro said as he fired up. The laser guns began shooting as his flames, causing a domino effect of everything to start.

            "Storm, you handle the winds!" Cyclops directed through a mouthful of sand.

            "I'm on it." She said as she took to the air to tame the sandstorm.

            "Alvers, take care of the bots!" Avalanche rolled his eyes back in his head and stomped his foot, sending out a wave that knocked all the robots on the floor. Magma and Pyro began melting them down to make sure they didn't get back up.

            "Next, Nightcrawler began teleporting Psylocke up to the laser guns while she sliced them off the wall. Berzerker helped out by shorting out any gun that fired at them, as a temporary solution. Cannonball and Sunspot took off, knocking all the largest projectiles out of the way, while Cyclops and Gambit took care of the smaller ones. Toad even caught a metal ball soaring at Cyclops's head. Blob and Colossus took to standing between flying laser fire and anyone in the way, while Shadowcat fazed people into safety. Iceman froze the cannons that were firing the projectiles and spiked disks and Jubilee blasted it to pieces. As the room finally died once again, everyone took a moment to breathe.

            "Good job, guys. Took ya long enough." Quicksilver sneered. All the X-Men and brotherhood turned and growled at him collectively. 

            "Do you think they're ready?" Mystique asked Xavier in the control room. He rested his head on his steeple-fingered hands and sighed.

            "Not by a long shot."

*          *          *

             Jean sat in a large arm chair in the middle of the Inner Circle's board room with her arms and legs crossed. She coldly ignored the lecture Emma and Sebastian were giving her. Jason sat in a shadowy corner waiting for his turn at her mind.

            "Just what did you think you were doing?" Emma shouted as she paced back and forth. "I pulled you from your very death bed and trained you and looked after you… and this is the thanks I get? I should fry every synapse in that ungrateful head of yours. You know now I've got a huge bruise on my chest! I've cared for you like my own daughter and you just go and squeeze the cerebral fluids from my skull…"

            "I didn't do that." Phoenix mumbled. "If I did, I'd only get to see you die once."

            "What?!" Emma shouted furiously. "How dare you--"

            "How dare I what? Use the knowledge and feelings you trained me to use? Your pathetic human lack of foresight could never have conceived that I would discriminate between whose suffering is more enjoyable… even yours."

            "What did he say to you? That little twit--" Emma roared, looking for someone she could blame that she would be able to punish.

            "Don't you dare call him a twit, you evil, heartless, witch!" Jean yelled as the Phoenix flared up about her.

            "Ladies, please!" Sebastian jumped in. "Emma, love, let me have a moment to speak with her." Emma smiled.

            "Your thoughts and feeling may not be human, but your body is. Beat some sense into her, please, Sebastian." He looked at Emma angrily, telling her to leave. She scoffed and began walking toward Jason's corner.

            "Angering her like this is not the way to get what you want, my dear." Sebastian said to the Phoenix as if she were a child. Emma couldn't hear his whispers over her shoulder, but she amplified his thoughts. "Have patience." Sebastian continued. "Good things come to those who wait, my Black Queen."

            "QUEEN?!" Emma shrieked. "You dare call her 'Queen' in my presence?! This is _my house, little man, and there is only one queen. I've had enough of you, Sebastian. It's time for you to leave… the same way as my predecessor." With that, Emma busted a blood vessel in his brain. He fell to the floor and quickly bled to death wile Emma, Jason, and the Phoenix watched with a sick dissociation. Then Emma looked up at Phoenix as if she'd just dropped a worthless vase on the floor. "See what I had to do, Phoenix? Just because you wouldn't listen."_

            "Please. If you hadn't done it, I would have."  Phoenix mumbled. Emma grimaced and called Jason over. "Oh don't insult me." She huffed.

            "Phoenix, my love…" Jason's eyes began to glow as he attempted to engage his created memories.

            "Love?" The Phoenix repeated as her eyes glowed orange and she filled with rage and allowed the power of the Phoenix to over take her. "You all don't even understand the meaning of the word, and because of that, _I_ have suffered. Do not dare to call me love. Do not dare to insult the magnificent fragility of this human heart." She bellowed as she raised her hands toward the ceiling and an orange beam of light burst from them, through the roof. She began to fly up out the hole when Emma assaulted her with a mental missile blast.

            "You're not going anywhere. You're going to pay for those repairs." Emma muttered bitterly as the Phoenix fell to the floor, temporarily debilitated. Mastermind stepped in and tried to make her love him again in a warm, clam setting. Instead, the Phoenix looked up and threw them both back against the wall.

            "Your silly mind tricks will not work on me." She said as she ascended up to the hole in the ceiling. "I see you as you really are, you vile, old fools. I will let you live in order to witness the awesome power of the monster you have created, for I am the Dark Phoenix, and I have business of a universal importance to tend to."

*          *          *

            The team walked out of the Danger Room after one of the hardest sessions they'd ever been subject to, ten times more so for the brotherhood. As all the kids laughed and joked while walked up to their rooms or showers, Wanda sat on the floor against the wall in the long metal hallway.

            "Catch up to ya later, mates." Pyro said as he left Lance and Remy and went to Wanda. They both sighed; jealous he still had his girl to go talk to. "Whatsa matter, sheila?" Pyro said as he crouched down next to her. She just scooted away from him and waited for everyone else to leave. "Oh c'mon, what'd I do?"

            "I work hard to become more than I am, but you guys would rather just sit on your butts and let humanity destroy itself. You all might be used to being puppets, but I've spent so much time trying to get away from all that and then you know what…? Suddenly, I don't even remember why. I'm just sick and tired of being manipulated, and I don't know what made think you would be too." Wanda huffed.

            "Well…" Pyro started. "Independence and freedom are different for everyone. Strong, brilliant, hot birds like yourself find it most liberating to have no one to answer to _but yourselves. Bumbling fools like the brothers and I… we're used to having people tell us when to do what for which reasons. For us, it's freedom from having to make thoughtful decisions or taking responsibility for our actions. It's just easier… y'know?" Wanda sighed as she glanced up at him. "But if you notice, we _did_ stay in there and finish out the session. We may be stupid and lazy most of the time, but it doesn't mean we don't care about anything." She finally cracked half a smile at him. "Baby steps, love, baby steps."_

            "Who knew you'd be so insightful?" She said as she put her hand on his knee.

            "I can do it some more, if you'd like." He watched her hand very carefully.

            "Go for it." She smiled.

            "Uh…" He thought quickly, hoping not to miss his window of her good mood. "Uh… if a tree falls in the woods, and no one's around to hear it, does it really make a sound??" She rolled her eyes and put her hand back in her lap. "Hey, that was deep!"

            "Yeah. About two centuries ago… what ever happened to originality?" She said as she started to get up.

            "No, wait, don't go. I got one for ya." She turned around and looked at him, waiting to hear another sarcastic quip. "I don't know if I believe in Magneto any more."

            "You don't what?" She asked in disbelief as she sat back down next to him.

            "I been thinkin' a lot since I been here, and every time I hear myself proclaim mutant supremacy, I wanna punch myself in the face." He explained. "Y'know, the only thing we can agree on, is that baseline humans are stupid." Wanda nodded as she listened to him. "The only way you get smart is by learning, right?" She nodded again. "Well, the X-Men are tryin' t'teach 'em one thing, and every time they gain a little lee-way, we blow somethin' up, do somethin' stupid. It's like settin' a hamster down in front of a TV, then switchin' the channel on him, and askin' what he's learned. If normal humans think like I do, all they remember is the big, firey explosion at the end." Wanda finally looked up at him and smiled.

            "Nobody thinks like you do, Pyro." She tried to comfort him. "But most people do have a conscience. What scares me though is that mine is telling me the same thing."

            "Really?" He perked up when she sympathized. She nodded, and he was struck with an idea. "How 'bout when this whole 'end of the world/Apocalypse' thing is over an' done with, you an' I get outta here and do something about our naggin' consciences?" 

            "I think that sounds good." Wanda said as she leaned over closer to him.

            "Hey! What're you doin'?" He grumbled as she began to invade his personal space. She closed her eyes tilted her head toward him. "Oh I get it." He mumbled as he closed his eyes and waited for her.

            "Baby cakes! You're cheatin' on me?!" Pyro and Wanda were interrupted. They looked up to see Kitty and Toad poking out of the danger room wall above them. 

            "Toad! I said you could watch if you stayed quiet!" Kitty said as she phased all the way through the wall and through Wanda and Pyro to stand in front of them. She left Toad stuck in the wall and watched him as he flailed about.

            "How could I stay quiet while the woman I love runs into the arms of another man?" Wanda sighed and rubbed her forehead as she zapped his mouth shut.

            "Who said you could watch anyway?" Pyro shouted at Kitty.

            "What do you mean 'who said you could watch'? I always get to spy! Face it, matchstick, if you wanna live here, you gotta get used to the rules… and lack of privacy." Kitty explained as she pulled Toad out of the wall. Pyro and Wanda both sighed as they stood up to go to the elevator, keeping their plans in the back of their minds.

            "Wanda! Cuddle bumps!! Wait up!" Toad shouted after her.

            "Hey, listen, butt bumper, the witch had a choice to make and she made it!" Pyro yelled back at him. 

            "Hey!" Wanda chided him as she hit Pyro on the back of the head.

            "Watch the stitches, sheila." He grumbled.

            "Lay off Toad." She ordered. "Don't make me regret my decision." Pyro looked down at the floor, ashamed. Toad jumped off the floor to chase after them as they slipped into the elevator, but Kitty held him back.

            "Let go of me, you crazy Kat!!"

            "Toad, calm down, listen for a sec." She said back. "You're not going anywhere til I say so."

            "Aw man. Whadda you want?" He said, finally calming down as he sat on the floor.

            "Okay, look. Wanda obviously isn't into you." She said bluntly.

            "Thanks for tellin' me, fur ball." Toad mumbled.

            "What I'm saying… is that… like, if she doesn't see all the great things about you, maybe she isn't worth your time, y'know what I mean?"

            "Great things? Like what great things?" Toad smiled up at her, revealing his slimy yellow teeth. At first she reeled back at the terrible stench of his breath.

            "Well, um… your loyalty is kinda sweet… I guess." She responded, thinking quickly.

            "Really? Y'think so?" finally she could nothing but smile back at his sad, puppy dog face, only looking for positive reinforcement.

            "Sure, Toad." She said honestly.

*          *          *

            "_Scott, __Logan__, Mystique and Ororo, I'm sorry to disturb you all from your much needed rest, but I have some new battle strategies I feel it's imperative to discuss with you."_

            "Ungh…" Scott grumbled as he walked down to the planning room outside the danger room.

            "I need my beauty sleep." Mystique groaned.

            "Quit complainin'." Logan said. "If the prof. thinks this is important, it really must be."

            "Logan's right." Ororo chimed in. "I need rest just as much as the rest of you, but you must remember, if you want to reap the benefits of your beauty sleep, you'll need a world to display it in. And if Apocalypse has his way--"

            "I know, I know." Mystique cut her off. "It was a figure of speech. I don't need a lecture from Mother Earth."

            "You could use a lecture from somebody…" Logan mumbled.

            "What did you say?" Mystique growled viciously.

            "Good morning, team." Xavier interrupted them as they walked into the room. They all grumbled their 'hellos'.

            "What's so important it couldn't wait til after 8 hours of sleep?" Mystique demanded.

            "I'm glad you asked." Charles smiled. "With Hank's information on the four energy domes; one in Mexico, One in China, and two in Egypt at Khafre's pyramid and the Sphinx, I've split the students up into four groups."

            "Based on what?" Logan asked. "How do you know what we'll need in each group?"

            "I have several options. First, they're all divided up based on their powers. There's a group of energy projectors, hand-to-hand fighters, elementals, and strong men and teleporters. And then I've also split them up so there's a little bit of each at each site."

            "Wouldn't the second option be best since we don't know anything about our opponents?" Ororo asked.

            "Yes, Storm, I agree. I tell you this now so you all can be thinking about your plans for your training sessions with your tea--" Xavier suddenly stopped short.

            "While the rest of us are young…" Mystique muttered.

            "What's wrong, professor?" Scott asked.

            "Did you feel that?" He responded.

            "I did…" Logan growled. "In my bones…" 

            "What is it?" Mystique barked, growing quickly impatient.

            "Please excuse me, I need to go to my study." Charles answered. "Please be thinking about this, making your plans for your danger room sessions this afternoon. If you have any questions, my door is always open. Now get some rest." The four watched him as he abruptly wheeled out of the room.

            "Logan, what's going on?" Scott asked, as they were all completely clueless.

            "Magneto…" He answered.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          * 

**Rogue151 – Thanks a million!! Yup yup… what's goin' on? Who knows? Oh wait… I know… but I'm not tellin'!! Keep reading and keep reviewing, and maybe one day, you'll find out… bwah ha ha ha ha ha!!!**

**Aro – Whoo hoo!! You still have all your appendages!! Now you can review again!!! Here's another update, so I hope you're happy… I definitely am!!! I hate it when you find those very rare, well written fic with good grammar and form, and character and plot development, as well as action, but then they NEVER update!! It makes me so mad. That's why I make a special point to update regularly… and, because if I didn't, I would just forget all about writing and have all these ideas in my head and go crazy!!! So long story short, keep reviewing, and I'll know there are people out there reading and I'll keep posting!! Thanks a lot!**

**evanescence kicks ass – This is Sofi, right? I'm glad you like the Jonda-ness, it doesn't seem to be all that popular… it just clicks for me though. I hope you like this chapter, it's Jonda-licious, just like I promised!! Although, it is a bit Jotty, I must say. Poor Pyro… he needs some lovin!!**

**Gothic Cajun – Weird good works for me!! I hope you like this one too! Keep reviewing, and as I explained up there ^^^ somewhere, I'll keep posting!**

**Amanda14 – I'm glad you like kidnappings. You have to like kidnappings to like this story; nobody ever seems to be able to stay in one place for very long! I'm glad you like the carol cover-up, I thought it would sound a little rushed, like I pulled it out of my butt or something, but ever since I wrote the chapter where Rogue takes her powers, I've been racking my brain to think of a way to bring her back into it. Thanks for the review, and the vindication!!**

**Ishandahalf – Huh? What? Where?!?! Oh… damn… I hope you come back in time to review again!! (Do I sound desperate??) You and I are on the same wavelengths when it comes to fan fic pairings. I'm definitely a hardcore Romy fan, but Jonda is good too. The only thing I don't like is Lancitty… but it's comin' up… it's unavoidable. Oh well. However fast a bunny on crack is, I hope this is it!**

**Andi – Yay for the reviewing!! Keep it up!! I'm glad you like the plot twists, somebody who reviewed earlier said things were kinda happening too fast. I agree cause I'm constantly writing it, (used up a whole notebook, 134 pages front and back just X-Men: Evo fan fic!!) but you, the viewers are reading chapters once a week like a television show, so stuff always has to be happening or you'll lose interest. These are like my episodes!!! Wow, lots of episodes!! Long story short, thanks for reviewing, keep it up!!!**

**Lid'l Rogue – Yay!! I'm glad you like it! Keep reviewing!!**

**Jaina – Where ya been all this time?? I can't believe you read this whole big mama-jamma I'm spending entirely too much of my precious youth on, in one sitting. Are you a fast reader or something?? Anyhoo, I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad you reviewed. It's a good thing you're addicted because… all addictions are good! Right? Anyway, keep reviewing!! **


	27. Chapter 27

Here you go, my loyal readers. Chapter 27. Get ready for some action coming up soon!! And guess what! I got my first flame. Boy, it's a doozy too. Guy musta been doing his Simon Cowell impression or something. I think it's funny he sat through the whole thing before he flamed, but it's okay, at least he didn't judge it too soon, that woulda really made me mad. Anyhoo, Thanks so much for reviewing, because it really means so much to me!! I hope you guys are all having a great Thanksgiving weekend!!!!!

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            "Magnus, come in please." Xavier said to the dark, shadowy figure hovering outside his office window. "I do wish you would use the front door, though."

            "Charles, I'm surprised at how it easy it was to break through the mansion's security. I thought you and I had built cerebro stronger than that." His deep, metallic voice echoed in his helmet as he sophisticatedly landed on the floor inside the window and took a seat at Xavier's desk.

            "Yes… It turns out that some intruders had very detailed schematics of cerebro's mainframe, and they managed to get into the institute without our noticing. Hank is working on some upgrades." The professor wheeled himself behind his desk. "How can I help you, Erik?"

            "After the events in Egypt, I thought you and I had an understanding regarding Apocalypse." Magneto stated.

            "I'm not aware of any understanding. Maybe if I could read your mind…"

            "This is not the time for joking, old friend. You know that when it comes to Nur, you and I are on the same side."

            "Are we Magnus? And which side is that? The side that believes mutants should dominate the Earth? If that's so, then you would be on the opposite side of mine and my X-Men." Charles finally grew solemn.

            "I am on the side that will do anything to stop the slaughter of _innocent mutants… and humans so long as their willing to submit to their superiors… Apocalypse must be stopped." Magneto clarified. Charles sighed, still not satisfied with his response._

            "Then yes, it appears we are on the same side." He acquiesced.

            "I demand to be kept in the loop about his actions… and ours."

            "If you will agree, that by no means you are completely in charge of this operation, we would greatly appreciate your military talents." Magneto grimaced at his lack of control in the situation, but reluctantly agreed.

            "Alright, Charles, you've got a deal." He said as he extended a hand across the neatly kept desk. Charles smiled as he shook it. "Now, what do we know?"

*          *          *

            "Kurt?... Kurt?" Betsy whispered to him as he slept in the middle of math class. "Kurt?" She shook him gently this time, as the entire class watched, but to no avail. Finally she went inside his head. He was dreaming about sitting next to Amanda on his front lawn in Germany. Betsy watched from behind a tree, not wanting to disturb them.  She admired how cute and affectionate they were together. They sat on a picnic blanket just talking and reveling in the perfect weather. Then Rogue and Mystique walked out of the large, white house behind them.

            "Kurt, sweetheart, dessert's ready. You'd better hurry before your sister eats it all!" Mystique called to him. He smiled as he looked over at Amanda

            "I'll be back in a jiff!!"

*BAMF!*

            Amanda savored the freshness of the lavender scent left by Kurt's light purple smoke. "Kurt!! You're so silly!" She heard Rogue say inside the house.

*BAMF!*

            He reappeared with a cup of chocolate mousse for each of them. Amanda smiled, happy to see him again, even if he was only gone for a second. "My mother's specialty." He explained. "It's my favorite." He took a spoonful and held it out as if he was going to feed it to her. She smiled and leaned in to eat it, but Kurt whipped it away at the last second and ate it himself. She giggled at him, and then he really did give her a bite. 

            "Mmm… It's delicious." She said as she took one of the cups from him. Betsy couldn't help but smile sadly at all of the blatant imagery of Kurt's desires in his dream. She didn't want to interrupt his happiness, but when the teacher cleared her throat, Betsy whipped around, Kurt's world dissolving behind her as she left it. She found herself once again at her desk in the classroom, the class and the teacher still staring at her.

            "Sorry…" Betsy mumbled. "He's dreaming… I'll answer the question."

            "No." The teacher replied simply.

            "But you don't know the joy it gives him, and he really needs it." Betsy pleaded.

            "So what? I really need a higher salary. Kurt really needs to learn about imaginary numbers." The teacher said.

            "Oh c'mon. Imaginary numbers are just that… _imaginary_. I mean, if you knew the real life stuff Kurt and I have to deal with every day, especially now, you'd let him have his few moments of peace. It's not like he's going to grow up to become an engineer or something. Why do we have to learn this stuff anyway?" Everyone in the classroom glared up at the teacher, all wanting to know the answer to the question, but too afraid to ask it themselves.

            "You have to learn this stuff because if you don't, you won't graduate. Then you won't grow up to become _anything_. So I suggest you wake him up, then take this note, and go to the principal's office." The teacher replied as she scrawled a message on a piece of paper.

            "M– M– Miss Frost?" Betsy stuttered as she slumped in her chair. She stared at the note the teacher waved in her face. The teacher just looked back at her, unsympathetically. Betsy snatched the note, then sat up straight in her seat as she went back into Kurt's mind. He was resting with his eyes closed on the blanket again, with his head in Amanda's lap. She was running her hand through his hair as Betsy walked up behind them. Amanda couldn't acknowledge her presence until Kurt did, since she was a figment of his mind. "Kurt?" Betsy whispered as she bent down beside him. He calmly opened his eyes, but jumped when he saw her, surprised she was so close to him.

            "Betsy? You can't have any of my chocolate mousse." He said possessively, not realizing she wasn't part of his dream. 

            "Kurt, you're drooling on your math book." She said.

            "I'm what?"

            "You're dreaming… in the middle of class. You have to wake up." She sighed.

            "Oh." Kurt said, disappointed. "I knew it was too good to be true." Betsy forced out a smile to try and comfort him. The world around them started to dissipate as Kurt woke up. When he opened his eyes, his head was pressed against his math book and Betsy was looking him in the eye, still forcing her smile at him. Once he sat up, Betsy got up and began to gather her things. Kurt looked up, surprised to see the entire class staring at him. He wiped the spit from his chin and blushed with embarrassment. "Uh… what'd I miss?" 

            Betsy smiled and shook her head as she left the classroom. The second she shut the door behind herself, the bottom dropped out of her stomach. She looked one way down the hall and saw the exit to the building. Then she looked the other way and saw the door to the principal's office… Miss Frost's office…_Emma's_ office. She took a deep breath and took a few steps in the morally 'correct' direction, then chickened out and ducked into the bathroom. She stared at the door for a second, then had to slow down her heart beat. She turned to walk into a stall when she saw a guy, standing at urinal, staring at her.

            "What are you gawking at?" She said defensively, not wanting to let on her embarrassment about accidentally walking into the men's room. The boy quickly zipped up his pants then tried to run out. "You're not going to wash your hands?" She asked him in disgust. He sheepishly walked back to the sink and quickly washed his hands. The whole time Betsy watched him, although he pretended not to see her, his face was beet red. She continued to glare at him as he dried his hands and left the room. When he left, Betsy heaved a sigh of relief. She was relieved to be alone. She put her hands on the edge of the sink and leaned forward, putting all her weight on her hands, and stared down at the floor. She remembered every little detail from the last time she saw Emma. She was afraid that if she angered her again, or somehow mistakenly challenged her, she'd be in for a pain so much worse she couldn't imagine. Betsy stood back up and lifted the sleeves of her striped shirt to see that her bruises were hardly even beginning to fade. Tears welled up in her eyes when she thought about her time at the Hellfire Club. She remembered her parents and her brothers. She missed them all terribly, but knew that her brothers would blame her for the death of their parents. They wouldn't have ever had any connection to the Hellfire Club if it wasn't for Betsy and her lack of control over her powers. They wouldn't have met Emma if it wasn't for Betsy. She wouldn't have murdered them if it wasn't for Betsy. When she managed to escape or, as it turns out, was kicked out, she thought she'd never have to think about it again. No one would ever know she was ever part of the Hellfire Club. No one would know it was her fault her parents were dead, and she would never have to look at Emma again. Now, she was forced to go speak with her, to go into her office which resided at the end of the hallway from her math class everyday, all because she asked a teacher 'why?'."

            "Uh? Betsy?" She instinctively rolled her sleeves back down and looked toward he door to see Pietro standing halfway in the room.

            "Yeah? What?" She said, trying to force back tears.

            "You know you're in the men's room?" She said, trying not to make her feel stupid or acknowledge her quite obvious emotional fragility.

            "What's your bloody point?" She growled.

            "That… uh… I'm gonna go to another bathroom." He muttered as he slowly backed out.

            "Good idea." She said. With that, he took off running down the hall, and Betsy looked back in the mirror. She sighed, feeling bad for yelling at him, and because she realized she couldn't stall any longer. She had to go talk to Emma to save her sanity if for nothing else. She stepped out of the bathroom and slowly walked down the hall to the principal's office. She stared at her feet so she wouldn't have to know just how long she had left. She kept walking until the door knob came into her line of view. She sighed again as she opened it, and walked into the little receptionist area before Emma's office. She sat down in a chair in front of the secretary's desk. He was young, and very handsome, but he sounded completely vacant as he talked on the phone about spas and manicures. No doubt Emma had hired him because he was pretty to look at.  Betsy didn't want to irrupt him; she wanted him to take all the time in the world. She tried to see through the foggy pain of glass into Emma's office. She closed to her eyes to try and sense something, but couldn't. She knew she wouldn't since Emma had rather difficult mental barriers being the Queen of the most sophisticated organization on the planet, bent on world domination.

            "Can I help you?" The secretary finally addressed Betsy. She was so leaning so far forward in her chair; she nearly fell out when he startled her.

            "Oh, yes, is Miss Frost in?" Betsy asked, trying not to cloud his mind with any polysyllabic words.

            "Nope. She's been out all week."

            "Really?" Betsy said surprised. She tried to sound more interested than relieved, to see if she could get more information about Emma's conveniently timed absence.

            "Yeah, she's been sick." He answered. "Hey! Are you Australian or something?"

            "Uh… I'm English actually." Betsy answered, confused by the relevance.

            "Oh, whatever. I just love your accent. I think I can do a pretty good English accent, listen: Where are mi tea and crumpets??" Betsy stared at him as if he were crazy while he spit out an offensively terrible, fake English accent. He didn't see the problem with it though.

            "Yes… well… okay then…" Betsy said as she slowly backed out of the room. 

            "Right-o!" the secretary said as she shut the door.

            "Hey Betts!" Kitty said, startling Betsy as she once again sighed with relief. Kitty was sitting outside the principal's office doing homework. 

            "Hey." Lance said, sitting beside her.

            "Hey guys." Betsy responded. "How's free period going?"

            "Kitty's makin' me do work." Lance grumbled.

            "Lance, you have to do homework. Seriously, it's not that bad." Kitty nagged him. Then she realized Betsy had just come out of Emma's office. "Did you just see Miss Frost? What did you do? What she say?" Kitty begged for gossip.

            "Oh… she wasn't there." Betsy replied. Kitty pouted, disappointed by the lack of drama.

            "What's the big deal with you and Frost?" Lance asked. Betsy and Kitty just sighed at each other. Suddenly, Betsy dropped her messenger book bag on the floor and doubled over in pain, clutching her head.

            "Omigod!! Betsy! What's wrong?!" Kitty jumped up to help her. Lance just there, wide eyed, not knowing what to do.

            "Make it stop… it hurts… it hurts." Betsy fell to her knees and put her head on the floor. The pain was so overwhelming she couldn't breathe.

            "Lance! Go get the nurse!" Kitty ordered. He stood up and took off running down the hall. Betsy continued to writhe in agony. "Betsy, what's wrong? What's going on?"    

            "No… wait…" Betsy called after Lance as she began to regain her composure and sat up, trying to catch her breath. "It's… it's going away."

            "Whoa." Lance said as he cautiously walked back to Kitty and Betsy. He wanted to be ready to go at a moments notice. "What happened?" 

            "Something's wrong." Betsy mumbled. "Something's very, very wrong."

*          *          *

            "_What happened?_" Betsy asked as she popped into Dr. McCoy's mind while he was sipping coffee and going over some medical reports Dr. MacTaggart had faxed him from Scotland. Her sudden voice caused him to jump, spilling his coffee all over his nice sweater.

            "Betsy! Don't scare me like that!" He shouted back aloud.

            "_Sorry._" She replied.

            "Hank?" Dr. Reyes looked at him as if he was crazy; not knowing Betsy was speaking to him.

            "Oh, Betsy… telepath." He explained rather caveman like. Cecelia just smiled at him and shook her head as she went back to her work. "_What is it?_" Dr. McCoy finally went back to thinking to Betsy as he attempted to pat his sweater dry.

            "_What happened?_" She said again.

            "_Happened? What do you mean, 'what happened?'? Nothing's happ--_" 

            "Dr. McCoy!" Magneto said as he burst in the med lab with Xavier's lifeless body in his hands. 

            "What have you done!" Hank shouted at him.

            "_Magneto… why am I not surprised?_" Betsy thought as she looked through Hank's eyes.

            "_Betsy, go away._" Dr. McCoy ordered as he cleaned off a bed for the professor and he and Dr. Reyes did their best to take his vitals.

            "_I'll gather everyone. We're coming home._" Betsy replied.

            "_No- Betsy-_" By then he could no longer feel her presence. He focused on the task before him. The most pressing emergency of the moment.

            "What happened?" Cecelia asked calmly, not fully aware of his connection to the X-Men.

            "We were discussing… current events… when he clutched his head and blacked out." Magneto explained.

            "What else?" Hank demanded.

            "Nothing. That's all." Dr. McCoy scowled at him, then went back to Xavier.

            "You know, it might be a telepath thing." Cecelia whispered to Hank, since there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Charles's body.

            "I think you're right." Hank said.

            "Maybe we should bring home Betsy." Cecelia suggested.

            "Already on it, I guess." Cecelia looked at him confused, but he ignored her.

            "What's going on?" Magneto insisted.

            "Well, actually--" Cecelia started.

            "Why should we tell you anything?" Hank interrupted her, barking at him in her ear. "How do we know you didn't cause it?"

            "I'm sick and tired of these baseless accusations." Magneto sighed angrily. He waved his hand and a drawer filled with sterilized scalpels opened. The scalpels rose from their resting place and flew out of the drawer, sharp side forward, like torpedoes bombing straight at Cecelia. She couldn't move back or she would have fallen top of the professor. Instead, her force field was triggered just in time, much to Magneto's dismay. The scalpels stopped and poised to resume their pace at Dr. McCoy. Suddenly, Magneto's helmet sparked and glowed pink. He looked up to see Gambit hanging from a light fixture with hands on either side of Magneto's helmet.

            "Drop 'em, or we'll have t' have that fruity suit a yours dry cleaned t' have a buried in." Magneto glared at him, and he only smiled back, arrogantly. Finally, the projectiles fell to the floor. Remy pulled himself back up, but instead of letting go of Magneto's helmet, he pulled it up with him. Before Magneto could react, another set of hands were planted on his face from behind. He struggled as he felt his mind being penetrated.

            "It's alright. They have an agreement. He didn't do anything." Betsy said as she took her hands off his face. "He's on our side."

            "Treacherous vermin." Magneto grumbled at both Gambit and Psylocke. 

            "You must be awfully dependant on that helmet. Your mental barriers are rather weak." Betsy responded.

            "How did you get here so fast?" Hank asked Betsy.

            "Well, when I saw Magneto in your mind, I had Kurt 'port me back here right away. I knew you all wouldn't be able to do anything about whatever had happened." Kurt waved from over her shoulder. "The others ought to be along shortly."

            "You guys were makin' enough noise t' wake the dead." Logan said as he, Peter, and Scott entered the room. "What happened to the prof?"

            "We don't know." Cecelia said as her force field retracted. "We can't find anything wrong with him, except he won't wake up." 

            "Omigod!" Kitty shouted as she led everyone to the entrance of the med lab. Seeing the professor unconscious on the bed almost made her cry as she buried her head in Lance's chest.

            "How did _you guys get here so fast?" Kurt asked._

            "Well, traffic isn't really a problem when you can phase through other cars." Lance explained.

            "Half-pint, if you caused any other accidents--" Logan chided her.

            "Magneto…" Pietro interrupted as he pushed his way in the room, Wanda following behind him.

            "What are _you doing here?" Wanda growled._

            "You cannot defeat Apocalypse on your own." Magneto explained.

            "You got a bunch of new Acolytes to whip us into shape?" Pyro spat sarcastically from the crowd of students.

            "I have several perspective new recruits in line to replace you, but there is no time to train them. I have come here to prepare all of you myself." Everyone whispered, offended.

            "We don't need your help, _father." Wanda insisted._

            "We don't need anything from you." Pietro chimed in.

            "Alright, listen up." Logan announced. "If the prof. made an agreement with him to train you all, you probably need it. Apocalypse is bigger and badder than anything we've ever dealt with before. We're gonna need all the help we can get." The students were all still leery, but they couldn't argue with their superior.

            "We're going to need Charles." Magneto said to Logan. They both looked over to Hank and Cecelia. They looked at each other, then at Betsy. She looked around, surprised to have been singled out.

            "We think it might be a psychic thing." Cecelia explained. 

            "How did you know something happened before it did?" Hank clarified. "I thought your precognition wasn't that specific."

            "It isn't… and I don't think I knew _before it happened. It was probably at the same time." Betsy said. "Whatever happened to him caused a psycho-kinetic backlash. I wouldn't be surprised if every telepath on the planet felt it." Cecelia and Hank just looked at each other, having no idea what she was talking about. "Alright, just get out of my way." Betsy said, frustrated that no one could understand her. Hank and Cecelia moved so she could sit in a chair beside the professor's bed. Betsy situated herself and began to go to work when she felt several piercing eyes upon her. She glared up at Hank and Cecelia staring over her shoulder. "Ahem." They got the hint and moved back. Then Betsy turned her gaze to the crowd of students watching silently in the doorway. "I could use a little privacy." She grumbled._

            "Deal with it. We're not going anywhere." Scott said. Everyone continued to stare at her, agreeing with Scott. She sighed and closed her eyes.

            When she turned around, she found herself in the dark void of the astral plane. She couldn't ever remember it being this dark, or cold, or lonely. She looked off into the distance to see an enormous fortress straight ahead of her, obviously representing Xavier's mind. She cautiously walked up to the door and knocked on it, giving large, booming, raps. She admired the strength of the security, but was not surprised by it. When she got no response, she knocked again. She was once again met by a disturbing silence. Finally, the quiet got to her, and she called out.

            "Professor Xavier?! Professor, it's Betsy!!" She was growing increasingly worried and frustrated by the continuing stillness. She began walking the length of the tall, thick fortress façade for any kind of loose stone that might let her in. She turned a corner and saw a pile of stones on the ground. She quietly walked over to the rubble, and saw a hole had been blasted into the wall. She concluded that the backlash occurred when whoever it was, forced their way in. She stepped over the stones and leaned in the wall, but couldn't see anything. She decided to step all the way in, but was suddenly, in a burst of white light, thrown back out of the fortress and out of the astral plane. She fell back off her chair in the med lab and on the floor. "OW GODDAMMITT!!" She shouted as she rubbed her throbbing head. Hank and Remy rushed over to help her off the floor while Cecelia checked on the burn on her forehead. "Aw bollocks…" Betsy muttered.

            "Wow, you've got a third degree burn on your forehead, Betsy. It must've been something big." To Betsy, Cecelia was stating the obvious. To everyone else, they were shocked by the news.

            "Well, well. There's only one entity I know that can do that." Betsy said to herself.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

**Amanda – Thanks so much!! I'm so glad you're downloading the Phoenix saga. I've had it for a while now, and I, like the pathetic geek that I am, have practically the whole thing memorized. I'm waiting for the Dark Phoenix TPB on eBay. I hope I haven't made it too complicated. If you have any questions, you can just ask me!!**

**Rogue151 – Nothing wrong with being lazy, just so long as you still review!! I guess it's a good thing I figured out how to enable anonymous reviews! It'll be a while before we see our good 'ole angst ridden buddy Rogue again, but I divulge nothing!!!**

**Gothic Cajun – Hmmmm… guess I can't refute your logic!! I'm glad you like the comic relief. Here's another chappy!!!**

**Jen1703 – A Jott fan, eh? I'm glad you like the Scott/Phoenix interaction, I have to say, those are my favorite parts too. More to come in the future, stay tuned!!**

**Ishandahalf – I'm glad you like Pyro's personality. The show didn't give him one, so I can do whatever I want… mwah ha ha ha ha!!! Yay, I love meeting other Jonda fans. Here's another chappy, so keep those reviews comin' quick like a bunny on crack!!**

**Syd – dude?**

**X-Fan – Awwww you made me soooo happy. You really made me day, and I had a terrible one!! I got home and read your review and I swear I felt like I was smiling for the first time in god knows how long!! Thanks so much!! I can't believe you sat down and read this whole thing start to finish. Thank you so much. I really want to be a screen writer one day, so if I need references, I'll give you a call!!     **


	28. Chapter 28

Wahoo!!! Double feature!!! Yay for long weekends. Wow, I'm sorry you all miss Rogue so much. She'll be back, I promise. I've written about two or three chapters ahead of what I've posted, and I still haven't written her back in yet, but she is coming in the next chapter I'm writing, but it'll still be a couple of weeks until it gets posted. Okay, alright. I hope you all are still having a great Thanksgiving weekend, and keep those reviews a comin'!        

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            

            "I really don't want to do this." Betsy said as she sat at the helm of cerebro.

            "Betsy, the Phoenix is the only thing we know of that induce physical harm. You have to talk to her." Cecelia said while a crowd watched from the doorway. Betsy looked up from the helmet in her lap at Cecelia, then over to Kitty sitting in a chair by her side.

            "Betts, if I could do it for you, I would." Kitty comforted her. Her words really struck Betsy. "You can do this. I'll be right here." Kitty slithered her hand onto one of Betsy's and she squeezed it slightly. Betsy actually smiled a little, and really did feel comforted. Then Betsy sighed and put the helmet on. Cecelia smiled and walked down the platform, ushering everyone back as she shut the door.

            "Everyone to the danger room… now!" Cecelia shouted as everyone refused to leave. Betsy finally relaxed when she heard the big metal door slam shut. The room was finally quiet. Betsy turned cerebro on, and glanced over at Kitty for help one last time before she shut her eyes.

            Betsy found herself flying about the astral plane. The same stillness from before irked her and kept her from feeling free like she ordinarily would have. She couldn't seem to shake the burden of her responsibilities, and she swiftly landed on an invisible floor. She walked around and kept her eyes peeled as if she were searching for something.

            "Looking for someone, my dear?" Betsy spun around to see Emma sitting comfortably in a large, leather armchair. "Come back for more?" Emma smiled and bounced her crossed legs up and down. Betsy grabbed her arms recalling the beating she'd received the last time she saw Emma. When she couldn't feel her bruises on her mental projection of herself, she realized Emma couldn't know how badly she was damaged. Betsy quickly pulled herself out of self pity and began to feel angry.

            "What have you done?" Betsy whispered, angry, but still afraid of what Emma might do to her.

            "Done? I haven't done anything." Emma said, surprised by the accusations.

            "The backlash… earlier… you're trying to tell me you didn't have anything to do with that?"

            "No." Emma said indignantly as she took a sip from the martini glass sitting on the table next to her chair. "Hurt like a bitch though. Didn't it, darling? Jason cried worse than a little girl."

            "Jason who?" Betsy cocked her head to the side, having once been familiar with a Jason.

            "Never mind… What makes you think I had anything to do with that?" Emma asked again.

            "The professor hadn't come out of it. I went in to get him and came out without the professor and a nasty burn. The only one I know who can do that is your bird." Betsy grumbled bitterly. Emma looked down at her knee and fixed a wrinkle in her perfectly pressed white pants. 

            "I don't have her anymore." Emma muttered under her breath.

            "What?" Betsy asked calmly, not sure she had heard correctly.

            "After your little X-boy toy paid my girl a visit, she said she had business to take of and left." Emma said callously.

            "You let her go? You let the Phoenix go and you don't know where?" Betsy shouted in utter frustration and disbelief.

            "No, you bloody fool; I didn't _let_ her go anywhere. Do you honestly think I would go of _power that easily? You obviously didn't learn anything in the time you were my pet, dear Elisabeth." Betsy gritted her teeth at the way Emma talked about her. "Something clued her in to the fact she's the most powerful being in the universe." Emma glared at Betsy accusingly. _

            "Me? I couldn't contact the Phoenix if I wanted to, she'd fry my circuitry. Maybe Jean sensed it in Scott. They do have an impressive connection." Emma scoffed at her. "Just because you find it hard to _feel_ anything for another person doesn't mean they do." She looked away, having nothing to come back with. "So you really didn't have anything to do with this?"

            "No, I didn't have anything to do with this." Emma said resentfully. "But I can't speak for the Phoenix. I don't know where she is or what she's up to… And frankly, I don't care anymore. You all can destroy yourselves trying to save this pathetic world of yours if you like, but when you've obliterated perhaps one of God's greatest creations, I'll be there to stand as leader of this wretched little rock and nobody will be there to stop me." Emma smiled, knowingly frustrating Betsy. She didn't realize that Betsy had grown so angry, pink energy bands began to emerge from the chair and wrap themselves around Emma. It wasn't until they starting tightening that Emma began to have a problem with them. "You pathetic little bitch, let me out of here now!!"  She screamed and thrashed about.

            "Hurts. Doesn't it?" Betsy said calmly as she tightened the bands. "Pity is, you'll wake up without a single reminder anything ever happened while my bruises still have yet to fade."

            "Alright, Alright, I'm sorry!! Let me go!!" Emma pleaded.

            "On the other hand," Betsy continued, ignoring Emma's cries for help. "I could press those pain buttons a little harder." As she spoke the restraints grew tighter and tighter. "Send your body into shock… give you a heart attack, cause a seizure… then I'd never have to worry about you ever again." Betsy paused. "Hmmm… yes…" She pondered coldly. Emma was actually beginning to fear for her life. "That seems a fitting punishment for your crimes…" Then suddenly, Betsy stopped. The pink bands dissolved. Betsy looked like a puppy that had just heard a dog whistle. "Did you feel that?" Betsy asked Emma as if nothing had happened.

            "Of course I felt that, you evil heathen." Emma gasped. Betsy just looked around to see if she could feel it again.

            "Not that…" Betsy said. Since she was distracted, Emma got up from her chair and approached Betsy as if she were going to strangle her. Without even looking, Betsy threw up her hand, causing a brick wall to ride up between the two, surprising Emma as she was cut off from contact with Betsy's mind. She stared at the wall in silence for a moment, then prepared to break though it when a door appeared. Betsy poked her head in, startling Emma. "That really was a lot of fun, love, but I really should be getting back. Ta-ta!" Betsy slammed the door in her face. The wall then disappeared, along with Betsy.

*          *          * 

            "So?" Kitty asked eagerly as Betsy took off the helmet and disconnected from cerebro. 

            "She didn't have anything to do with it." Betsy mumbled, disappointed. "But I think the professor's awake." She said as she and Kitty got up.

            "So he'll be okay?" Kitty asked as they walked down to the med-lab.

            "I dunno. I guess we'll find out." Betsy shrugged her shoulders.

            "So how'd it go… with Miss Frost?" Kitty asked cautiously. She was surprised to be met with a wicked smile.

            "It was a liberating experience, let me tell you." Betsy said cryptically. Kitty looked but confused, but Betsy ignored it as she continued to smile to herself. They both walked into the med-lab to see Magneto, Logan, Scott and the doctors crowded around the professor's bed. "It was the Phoenix, wasn't it?" Betsy asked, announcing their arrival. Xavier leaned forward on his bed, confirming his consciousness.

            "No." He answered Betsy's question simply. She stopped, surprised.

            "Hey, what makes you think it was Jean?" Scott asked defensively.

            "Not Jean necessarily… the Phoenix." Betsy clarified for the millionth time. "Although, if it was Jean, it would make sense she'd go to the first person she could trust, but she wouldn't have to force her way in…" Betsy said to herself. "I mean, Emma doesn't know where the Phoenix is. She broke free of the Hellfire Club's control and has since been AWOL. Emma's pulled out entirely, not wanting anything to do with the consequences of whatever she's done." She explained. "So if it _wasn't_ the Phoenix, who was it?" Everyone just stared blankly at Betsy as she finally came for air from her conversation that vacillated between talking to herself and to everyone else. 

            "Apocalypse." The Professor responded. "He said he's ready for our trial… to determine if we are fit."

            "'If we are fit'? Like the hieroglyphics…" Betsy mumbled.

            "Yes." Xavier nodded. "It's time for the troops to move out."

*          *          *

            "I can't believe I'm taking orders from you." The Scarlet Witch grumbled at Magneto in the helijet bound for China.

            "Wanda, this is not the time." He responded, focusing on flying the plane, and the trial that stood before them all.

            "We've got some unfinished business and if we don't handle it now, we may never." She growled back.

            "Why are you angry at him anyway?" Iceman interrupted from behind them. Quicksilver tried to shut him up, but it was too late. However, instead of becoming irate, Scarlet Witch just looked puzzled in her seat beside Magneto, befuddled.

            "You know… I'm not really sure." She said. Both Magneto and Quicksilver heaved a sigh of relief. Psylocke stared out the window of the plane, trying to focus on the scenery outside instead of the visions flooding her mind. All she saw were warnings to give up and submit. If not, they would all die. She nearly cried there, believing this would be the end. She saw terrible, bloody images of all of her friends, dead. She thought of all the things she wished she had done. As a tear dripped on her hand in her lap, she decided she couldn't breathe a word to anyone. If they knew what was to happen, she feared they would give into their destiny, and only then does it fail. She prayed dearly that everything she saw was merely an incarnation of her fears and not the future, but she couldn't convince herself to make them stop.

            "Do you all have any questions about the battle plans?" Magneto asked his team, consisting of The Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Toad, Iceman and Psylocke. they all sorrowfully shook their heads as the plane landed in front of the giant purple dome. "This is your last chance to be afraid. You grow up here and now, and you never get the opportunity to look back. Tonight, you are soldiers. You are fighting, not for a mutant's rights to exist in a human society, but your right to go on living as a human being."

            "No pressure, right?" Toad tried to joke, but not even his own mood was affected.

            "Shut up, Toad." Quicksilver barked.

            "Charles…" Magneto said into his wrist communicator. "We've landed."

            "Alright, Magnus. Proceed with caution; don't make the first move." Xavier warned. "Let him show us what he's got." With that, Magneto waved his team out. They all slowly unbuckled their seat belts and hopped out of the plane to the ground and stopped, afraid to get any closer to the energy dome. They stood around Psylocke as she tried to sense what might be lying within. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and shook her head, signifying she couldn't get through. Magneto led them all a few steps closer and they stood there, watching and waiting.

*          *          *

            The team on their way to Mexico sat silently in the plane, all contemplating their fates. Storm sighed as the energy dome came into view in front of her. She had a look of utter fear on her face. 

            "What are you thinking Ororo? What's the prognosis?" The Beast asked her, hoping to relive some tension. 

            "This isn't good." She answered. "The atmosphere's so out of alignment I can hardly think at all."

            "Great pep talk." Cannonball mumbled.

            "Seriously, Strom, you're freaking us out." Magma chimed in.

            "I'm not going to lie to you all." Storm said frankly as she landed the plane. "We don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of that dome. We may very well not be able to defeat it, but we are going to give it the fight of our lives. Understand?" Magma, Cannonball, The Blob and Sunspot all nodded fearfully in their seats behind her, while Beat nodded in the co-pilot's chair.

            "We'll take 'em down." Sunspot said confidently.

            "Yeah, we're gonna squash 'em!" Blob said. Storm forced out a smile to keep their optimism. They all silently unbuckled their seat belts and walked outside. They all stopped just a few feet outside the plane.

            "C'mon guys, just remember your training in the danger room. This'll be a piece of cake." Beast said as he led all the students forward. Storm stopped and looked up to the dark clouds overhead.

            "Charles?" She called into her wrist communicator. "We're ready."

            "The team in China has just landed." He answered. "Wait for my signal."

            "Of course." She said as joined her team. She stopped to take a moment to envelop herself in the environment.

            "What is it, fearless leader?" Beast asked her. She opened her eyes and shook her head.

            "Whatever it is… the planet feels it too. The winds are preparing for war."

*          *          *

            "We're breaking off now, Charles." Wolverine called to Xavier in the other plane they were flying in a formation with as they approached the Sphinx in Egypt.

            "Yes, Logan. We'll be in contact." Xavier said.

            "Alright, everybody, I'm in charge--" Mystique started.

            "No you're not. We both are." Wolverine corrected.

            "Bloody hell, you two squabble like siblings." Pyro interrupted. "Why don't we just settle this thing and say _I'm_ in charge?" Mystique and Wolverine both glared back at him.

            "I think what he's trying to say is that your fighting isn't helping us save the world." Nightcrawler explained.

            "Seriously. We can handle this." Jubilee said. "All we need is to get the right message at the right time."

            "Don't make any unilateral decisions." Mystique barked at Wolverine

            "Alright then, I'm the final word. Don't do anything unless I say so." Wolverine announced.

            "Or me." Mystique interjected, angry about having her authority diminished

            "Okay, look, the world is resting on our shoulders. Your fighting is only adding to the burden because we won't be able to trust that you're not just giving us orders to try and one-up the other to see who has more followers. I'm picking Wolverine to be in charge, okay? We've trained with him a lot more and we all trust him better. If you don't like it, Mystique, then get out of here. I mean, what can you do anyway? Morph into a bird and peck Apocalypse's eyes out?" Everyone in the landed plane stared at Berzerker in awe. He was usually meek and submissive, but the pressure appears to have caused him to snap. "There. It's decided. Now everyone shut up and lets go save the stupid world." He unbuckled his seat belt and stormed out of the plane, waiting for no one. They all continued to stare at him as he blew past them.

            "I oughta peck your eyes out…" Mystique muttered under her breath.

            "Uh… I think he's just tired." Jubilee said.

            "Well, you heard the kid, everyone out!" Wolverine ordered. "If that's okay with you, Mystique?" She just growled at him.

*          *          *

            "What's in there?" Gambit asked the professor who was sitting in front of him in the fourth and final helijet.

            "I don't know, Remy. I honestly don't know." He replied.

            "Alright, I'm taking her down." Cyclops said as he dropped the plane down in front of the energy dome encasing one of the pyramids at Gizeh a few hundred yards away from the Sphinx. The occupants of the plane were silent as no one had anything they wished to say aloud.

            "Do you think we can win?" Shadowcat asked Avalanche. Her expression as he looked down at her begged for comfort and encouragement.

            "Sure, Kitty, we can do anything." He said, trying to convince himself as much as her.

            Colossus sighed as he looked out the window. All he could think about was his sister. He was determined to rectify all the bad he had done under Magneto and make her proud, just as he'd promised. He would die saving the world, if need be. He'd gladly give his life if it meant he could see her on the other side. He wouldn't fail all of humanity the way he'd failed Illyana.

            Gambit thought about Rogue. He wondered if she was safe, if she was scared, or if she even knew what was going on. He could understand that there was no time to go look for her and Carol before they took on Apocalypse, but he didn't like it. He didn't like knowing that he could die without ever seeing her brilliant green eyes again. The only thing he couldn't comprehend was why he cared more about her than the world itself.

            Cyclops focused on the landing the plane, but also on Jean. He wondered if he could trust her to fight off the Phoenix long enough to help him when he needed it most. He didn't know if he could trust the Phoenix to destroy Apocalypse without destroying the world as she so desperately hungered to do. He decided all he could do was feel as though he needed her, and hoped she would come. No one knew where she was, but he and Jean were stronger than that.

            "Alright, my children. This is it. I will be here for you. I trust and believe in all of you. I trust and believe you with the world." With Xavier's words, Cyclops, Gambit, Colossus, Shadowcat and Avalanche stepped off the plane and out into the unknown.  

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**roguewanderer** – thanks for the encouragement. I think it's funny how much he really hated it. Wow. Hope he's enjoying his Harry Potter fan fiction. Hope this answers some questions about what's been going on with our favorite mutants!! I can't say too much, cause I'm really trying to be dramatic and I don't wanna make anything too obvious. Thanks for reviewing!!!

**Ishandahalf – bwah ha ha ha ha!! Your world has turned upside down… has it not??? (that was supposed to be in a creepy, deep, evil voice.) Yeah… poor Kurt. But if he doesn't have his dreams, then what has he got? It's really sad. Yeah, still no Rogue… little bit of Romy-ish-ness there in Remy's thoughts. And a teensy bit of Lancitty (blech, I hate Lancitty!!). So keep those reviews comin' supafast!!**

**Rogue151 – Nope!! You were wrong!! Fooled you!! Not the Phoenix that blasted Betsy. I'm glad you're still enjoying it without Rogue. Never fear. She will be back, as I said way, way up there^^ And it will be totally cool, I promise. Just stick around and keep reviewin'!!**

**GothicCajun – You're lucky you got your review in before I posted!! Oh… no… wait… I waited just for you to review, _then_ I posted… yeah, that's the ticket. Rogue will be back, don't cry. Keep reviewing and maybe she'll get in quicker! **

Okay, now some business: to view my fan art, go here: **walmartshoplifter.deviantart.com**

Just copy it into your bower thingy!! Yay!!!


	29. Chapter 29

Yay!! Over 100 reviews!! You guys are awesome!! I love each and every one of you!! Okay, chill out, Rogue is coming back in two chapters. Stick around… big stuff happening, lots of action. Very impending doom-ish. Once again, I love you all with all my heart!! So long as you keep reviewing!!

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            – CHINA –

            After 20 to 30 minutes of waiting, the team was growing restless; the stress of what was lying in wait for them was building. Toad, Scarlet Witch, Psylocke, Iceman, and Quicksilver all sat in a circle on the dusty ground, contemplating anything and everything, but saying nothing. Occasionally, one of them would glance up to see Magneto in the helijet, but no one dared go inquire as to what he was doing. 

            "Man, when is something gonna happen?" Toad said, breaking an uneasy silence as he plucked a fly out of the air.

            "Ugghhh… Cut that out." Scarlet Witch grumbled.

            "We can't make the first move…" Psylocke reminded them as she massaged her temples. She was trying her hardest to push out the images and visions of the end of the world as she knew it while trying not to let anyone know what she was feeling. 

            "This is taking forever. I could've gone to Egypt and Mexico, defeated Apocalypse myself, and been back here twenty times over by now." Quicksilver whined.

            "I think the stress is going to kill me." Psylocke added under her breath.

            "Not me, no way. I'm as cool as a cucumber." Iceman said. Everyone just rolled their eyes at his stupid pun.

            "I'm growing tired of waiting as well…" Magneto said as she stormed past the students toward the energy dome. No one noticed he'd left the plane. "Perhaps _we should make the first move." Just as Psylocke and The Scarlet Witch were about to jump up to try and hold him back, a sudden rumbling burst forth from the dome. Everyone else jumped to their feet while the three stopped dead in their tracks._

            – MEXICO –

            Storm spun a small, light tornado on the ground with her finger and watched as the leaves danced about while she sat in wait on her rock. Magma and Sunspot drew pictures in the sand with a stick as they sat on their rocks.

            "Am I the only one gettin' hungry?" The Blob interrupted the somber silence.

            "I don't understand how you can even think about food at a time like this." Magma spat, aghast. Blob just shrugged his shoulders.

            "Maybe it would help us _all_ focus if we took our minds off everything for a few minutes." Beast suggested. Everyone just grumbled, quietly vetoing his idea.

            "What's going on with everyone else?" Sunspot asked Storm.

            "Last time I checked, thirty seconds ago, the same." She said simply. Everyone collectively sighed. Storm looked at Beast for comfort as she thought 'no news is good news.' Suddenly, he perked up as he heard a slight rumbling. Soon, everyone could hear it too as it grew louder. They jumped up to see the energy dome shaking. They watched in frightened awe as the bottom on the dome began to rise up.

            – SPHINX –

            "I'm sorry." Mystique forced out as she rubbed her arms to warm them up in the barren Egyptian night. She sat down in the dust next to Wolverine who was poking at the bon fire in the middle of a circle of X-Men, with a stick.

            "Good." He sneered. Pyro, Berzerker, Jubilee and Nightcrawler all rolled their eyes.

            "What do you mean, 'good'? Do you have any idea how hard that is for me to say? I realize the severity of this situation and the importance of our cooperation and all you say is, 'good'? You know what; I take back my apology and regret ever having said it or ever having enough respect for your leadership skills to ignore my pride. So bite me, badger boy." Mystique barked as she got up and walked away. Wolverine barely glanced up at her, but did see Jubilee yawn while Pyro made curly-cues in the fire with his fingers.

            "You're a pig head, you know that?" Jubilee scolded Wolverine.

            "Congratulations, Logan, you're winning the pissing contest." Berzerker said. Jubilee just giggled at him.

            "It's okay, mother. I forgive you." Nightcrawler comforted her as walked back to the jet. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him, then looked at the ground and continued on her path.

            "Alright." Wolverine huffed after her. "I appreciate the gesture. And it _is important we work together. And you are the bigger person… I guess." Berzerker, Jubilee, Pyro and Nightcrawler all smiled at each other. The Kodak moment was interrupted, however, by a bright light coming from the now opening energy dome._

            "Man! What is it?" Nightcrawler shouted over the thunderous rumbling as the team poised for attack.

            "People." Wolverine grumbled.

            – EGYPTIAN PYRAMID –

Cyclops, Gambit, Colossus, Avalanche, and Shadowcat all stared deeply into the burning embers of their bon fire. Professor Xavier remained on the plane, keeping in contact with the other teams and Dr. Reyes who stayed at the mansion with a sick Jamie Madrox. The team waited silently, thinking about what was waiting for them inside the purple energy dome, and all the various things they had to live for. Finally, Avalanche managed to break his drone like state.

            "I'm gonna go talk to the professor." He announced, though he was speaking mostly to Shadowcat who had to let go of him. She nodded at him with tears in her eyes. She pulled her arms away from Avalanche and sat up, clinging her knees to her chest. "You okay?" He asked her as he stood up. She nodded again.

            "Yeah, I'm just tired and cold, and the suspense is killing me." She muttered. Gambit took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. Colossus stood up to take Avalanche's place at her side. 

            "Everything will be okay, Katya, I promise." Colossus said. Avalanche glanced over his shoulder at them as he walked to the jet.

            "You have nothing to worry about, their relationship is more brother-sister than anything else." Xavier said without looking up as Avalanche boarded the plane.

            "Huh? Oh." He said, having been in a daze of his own thoughts. "I'm more worried _for her than __about her." Avalanche answered. Xavier looked up at smiled at him as he sat down in the co-pilot's chair. "How's everyone else?"_

            "The same." The professor responded. Avalanche just sighed as he stared out the window at the energy dome in front of him. "The Army, however, is waiting for us to fail." He added. Avalanche just nodded and there was a moment of awkward silence. "What's on your mind?" He finally asked. Avalanche just sighed as he tried to formulate his thoughts into words.

            "When you were originally recruiting the X-Men, Toad told me you tried to get him to join… and Blob…"

            "Yes, Lance." The professor confirmed.

            "Did you try to recruit Pietro?" He asked. Xavier smiled and chuckled to himself.

            "Pietro was a… a special case." 

            "Oh. Yeah." Avalanche responded before another pause. He took one last chance to think over his most important question when he decided he had to know. "Did you try at all with me?" Xavier looked up at him, surprised by the question.

            "Of course I did." He said without hesitation. Avalanche looked up at the professor, taken aback by the answer. "It's just… I brought Jean with me to recruit Kitty, and I didn't have the resources to…" Xavier trailed off as he sighed. "I fear I just didn't have the resources to try hard enough. You were in foster care, and the only way to get you out was through legal means, and I didn't have a lawyer at my disposal or a rapport with you at all. I suppose I could've brought Logan to appeal to you the way Jean did to Kitty, but someone needed to stay back with the others. Even then, I couldn't just 'kidnap' you the way Mystique did. I just… I couldn't."

            "Oh." Avalanche said as he looked down at his feet.

            "I hope the fact that I regret my lack of initiative more than perhaps any other mistake in my life is of some comfort… It's all I have to offer." Avalanche just glanced up at him, nodded, then pondered for a bit.

            "What about the others you can't get to… like Pyro or Gambit… or Colossus?" Xavier had to think what he meant on this question. 

            "What about them?" The professor finally answered.

            "They would just slip through the cracks too, wouldn't they?" The professor had no response, giving Avalanche the answer he feared.

            "Not if there were more of us… more X-Men… in more places." Xavier finally said after yet another moment of silence.

            "You mean like branches… of the Xavier institute?" Avalanche said, formulating an idea in his head.

            "Yes." Xavier nodded, coming to the same conclusion. "Perhaps transcontinental branches or even… international ones…"

            "Yeah…" Avalanche said, thinking this could be the beginning of his mark on the world. Suddenly, their conversation was stopped short by a rumbling coming from the dome outside. 

            "Charles?"

            "Charles?"

            "We got action." Magneto, Storm and Wolverine all came in on the com system simultaneously. Gambit, Colossus, Cyclops and Shadowcat were all standing at attention outside.

            "Go." Xavier said to Avalanche, sending him back out to join his team. Then he turned to the communicator. "So do we." Xavier said to the other teams. "Stand at alert. This could be it."

*          *          *

            "What is it?" Avalanche shouted as he ran back to join the others.

            "We don't know yet." Cyclops answered.

            "Whatever it is, it's happening everywhere else, too." Avalanche said.

            "Mon dieu." Gambit said as he looked off into the distance toward the Sphinx where a blinding white light could be seen. Soon, the energy dome from the pyramid in front of them began lifting from the ground, releasing the same white light at them. The dome retracted into the top of the pyramid and the light flashed, then disappeared.

            "Nasty Boys?" Cyclops said as the spots the light had left before his eyes began to dissipate and he could identify a few familiar faces.

            "And Marauders…" Shadowcat added.

            "Infinites, you fools! _Infinites_!" The leader shouted.

            "Vertigo…" Gambit grumbled. "Been a long time…" When she heard his voice she smiled fiendishly and walked toward him from her post at the base of the pyramid.

            "Well, not that long." She said with a deep, throaty voice, reminding Gambit of the last time they'd met.

            "So Sinister's got y'all doin' his dirty work for Apocalypse... huh?" Gambit said, hoping for answers.

            "Please, I work for no one but the high lord himself. Sinister's just another one of his lap dogs now."

            "What about Rogue?" Vertigo rolled her eyes at his silly list of priorities.

            "Let's just say, she's in a better place." She said cryptically, wanting to change the subject.

            "Didn't you die?" Cyclops asked, changing the topic back to her, making her smile again.

            "Yes… but noe I'm alive. I was reborn… and reborn, and reborn, and reborn again. As were we all." She said, referring to the team behind her, consisting of Gorgeous George, Riptide, Harpoon, Slab, Scrambler and Ruckus.

            "What does that mean?" Colossus demanded, growing very angry.

            "It's like the Shadowcat's pet rock said, 'Whatever's goin' on here is happening everywhere else.'"

            "Vertigo! Christ! Hurry it up!" One from her team shouted at her.

            "Shut up, Riptide!" She yelled back without with out turning her head.

            "So there's more of you?"

            "Gold star for the Cyclops." Vertigo answered. "And thanks to Sinister's cloning methods, soon there will be more of us than regular mutants on the planet. We will become an infinite army of mutant soldiers, overseeing the execution of the will of the high lord; ensuring that the weak is never a burden to the strong. And when we die, we will simply be reborn yet again… I will be immortal." With her last phrase, she activated her powers, making everyone drop to their knees clutching their head or their stomach. Riptide took off in a whirlwind throwing off his spiked bone shurikens. Avalanche managed to throw his fists into the ground, sending out a subterranean seismic shockwave that knocked both Riptide and Vertigo back. Vertigo was struck unconscious as she hit her head. Riptide quickly got back up and started spinning again. Colossus stood in his way, catching all the shurikens in his metal form. He reached out and shut his arms, trapping Riptide and throwing him against the wall of the pyramid.

            George extended his slimy purple arms and wrapped himself around Cyclops's head. He tried firing optic blasts, but they were little harm as they ripped right through George's gelatinous body. Harpoon poised some distance away to throw out one of his bio-electrically charged spears at them both, caring only about his target. Shadowcat emerged with Gambit out of the ground behind Harpoon's feet. Once she saw what was going on, she left Gambit and quickly dove back underground. Harpoon sent the weapon flying and Gambit reached his hand inside Harpoon's quiver that held his spears. He pulled two out then charged them amd threw them at the ground by Harpoon's feet. They exploded and he fell to the ground. Gambit took the rest of the spears, charged them up as well, and threw them away so Harpoon couldn't hurt anyone else.

            Meanwhile, George and Cyclops caught sight of the harpoon headed straight for them. George quickly melted away around Cyclops's ankles, but Cyclops couldn't get away quick enough. Just in time, Shadowcat phased up from the ground and grabbed Cyclops's ankles. The harpoon passed right through his chest and kept going. It hit Scrambler, who was busy attacking Avalanche from behind, in the back. Scrambler fell on top of Avalanche, but Colossus was there and picked him by the collar and threw him aside. Suddenly, an earthquake began as Avalanche's powers were out of control.

            "I'm sorry. I can't stop it!" Avalanche shouted. "I'm sorry." Then, in front of him, the ground was attempting to release some of the unnatural pressure it was struck with, and an underwater spring that lay dormant for perhaps more a millennia, burst forth from the ground, shooting water up 15 feet in the air. "I can't stop it!" As Cyclops helped Shadowcat out of the desert floor, George wrapped himself around her.

            "Somebody help me!" She gurgled as George forced his way down her throat. Cyclops and Colossus were both there, but they didn't know what to do. Every time she phased through him for air, George would slip himself back around her. "Grab my ankles and throw me into the water!" She finally yelled over the rushing sound of the geyser and the rumbling of the Earth. Colossus did as she said and threw both Shadowcat and George into the fountain. The force of the water breaking through the ground kept them in the spout. Shadowcat phased George until his molecules had separated too much in the water and could no longer hold themselves together. Then Cyclops jumped in and pulled Shadowcat out.

            "You okay?" He asked as he regained his bearings.

            "Yeah… I think so…" She said as she tried to gasp for air after inhaling so much water.

            "That was amazing." Cyclops commended her, his wet hair dripping down his face. She just looked at him as if he were crazy, having just come off an adrenaline rush.

            As Gambit and Colossus went back to Avalanche to make sure he was okay, the earthquake still raging, Colossus felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Slab waiting to fight him.

            "Slab, you don' wanna do this, mon ami." Gambit tried to persuade him. "You remember me, don' chya?"

            "Yes… no…?" Slab responded, confused.

            "You don' wanna hurt us." Gambit clarified. Slab blinked his eyes, confused as to whether or not he actually wanted to hurt anyone.

            "Shut up, Gambit." Vertigo said in his ear. He fell to the ground, too dizzy to stand. "Do it, you moron!" She shouted at Slab. He turned around and threw Colossus through the air. Shadowcat and Cyclops both screamed as they saw the 500 pound metal monolith falling straight toward them. Once again thinking quickly, she grabbed Cyclops and phased them both just in time.

            "Wow, you're on top of things, aren't you?" Cyclops said to Shadowcat, their heads poking our of Colossus's giant chest. Colossus didn't even acknowledge them as he stood back up.

            Gambit was lying on the ground as Vertigo kicked him in the stomach, over and over. "You slimy, ungrateful do-gooder!" She said. Each time her foot made contact, Gambit threw up. He couldn't find the air to try and talk her down. "You were his favorite. I served him loyally and graciously, and he preferred you… and then Psylocke. And you both ditched him for these people? None of them trust you, you know. Why should they? Well guess what, Gambit. I'm his favorite, and I'm gonna live forever. But now, you're gonna die!" Just as she hit him once again in the stomach, she was hit in the back by an optic blast.

            "Why should we trust him?" Cyclops said. "'Cause he's an X-Man, that's why!" He shot at her again and knocked her unconscious.

            Shadowcat rushed to Avalanche's side. The professor was already there, trying to talk him into controlling his powers and subdue the earthquake.

            "Lance! Lance! Are you okay?" Shadowcat called to him.

            "Lance, you must calm down." Xavier calmly yelled to him over the rumbling of the ground. "Concentrate…" Avalanche tried his best as he clutched his head.

            "C'mon, Lance. You can do it." Shadowcat continued to encourage him as she threw her arms around him.

            "Oh will you all please just shut up?" Ruckus said as he appeared from behind them. He opened his mouth and echoed the sounds of the earthquake. Avalanche, the professor and Shadowcat tried to cover their ears, but to no avail. Finally Ruckus was quieted when he was struck with Slab. Colossus had thrown him at Ruckus. As Avalanche regained his bearings, the effects of Scrambler's assault began to wear off, and the ground calmed itself. The water spout dropped back into the ground, the arid desert floor drank up the excess flooding. Finally, they had a moment to catch their breath as the battle between the Infinites and this group of X-Men was over. This brief resting period however, was only short lived.

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**Rogue151 – Hey, laziness is not a problem… just don't ever get too lazy to review _at all_. Rogue being a horseman… hmmmmmm… I dunno. Well I do. But I won't say. Two more chapters and she's back. Sort of… stay tuned!!**

**Caliente – Where ya been?? Been a while since you reviewed last… oh well, just keep 'em comin'. If you hadn't heard before, I'll say it again, I divulge nothing!!! You'll just have to keep reading and see.**

**X-Fan – Yay!! You rock!! I hope this was enough action for ya. Lots more to come!! Rogue will be back soon, I promise, just keep your pants on!! Seesh!! When I took her out, I didn't expect it to take so long to bring her back her in. She'll be back in two more chapters. Keep reviewin' and makin' my day!!**

**Ishandahalf – Some people are just oblivious, but I really tried to lead you on about Phoenix (mission accomplished! ;-P) I hope that little bit of Romy holds you over for a while, only a few brief moments like that for a couple of chapters, but then there will be a Romy explosion. Stay tuned and keep those reviews comin' supafast!!**

**X-Men Fanitic – Yay!! A new reader!! I like that you like my style. That makes me so happy! Sorry you're not all that into Phoenix… it's one of my favorite storylines of all time (different strokes for different folks.) I just hope that there's so much other stuff going on that you can stay interested, but Phoenix is coming up. Sorry. But stick around and keep reviewing, Lots of Romy at the end!!**


	30. Chapter 30

A shiny, fresh smelling, brand new, straight from the package chapter for you, my dear, loyal readers. It seems like it's been a long time since the last post… I'm sorry I've been so busy this week. Okay… we grow ever closer to what lies within the pyramids… dun Dun DUN!! Rogue will be back in the next chapter, I swear!! Stay tuned to find out what happens. And always remember: If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie, wipe the seatie!! AND REVIEW!!!

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            – CHINA –

            "That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Psylocke said after Vertigo gave her manifesto. The Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Toad and Iceman just looked at her as if she was crazy. 

            "You're just jealous." Vertigo spat as she walked up to Psylocke who was standing in front of the assembled team.

            "Jealous that you get to be four times the pawn that I ever was?" Psylocke responded sarcastically as she let her hands glow purple at her hips, the light reflecting in her katana swords. 

            "Jealous that _I'm _his favorite now." Vertigo clarified.

            "I never wanted to be his _favorite_. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. That was the plan and it worked for me."

            "You two know each other?" Toad interrupted Psylocke.

            "Oh yes… in fact, you might say we're quite… _close_." Vertigo answered for her, making everyone sick. They all dropped to the ground, including Magneto. The Scarlet Witch threw a hex bolt; but she was so dizzy, it only hit Vertigo in the foot. It distracted her enough for Toad to spit in her face. Psylocke immediately jumped up and pushed her down, smiling as she pushed a psionic knife in Vertigo's forehead. Psylocke looked up in time to see a bio-electrically charged harpoon flying at her face. She jumped when it was plucked out of the air, Toad's tongue wrapped around it. The bio electricity fried his tongue muscles though.

            "Toad, are you okay?" Scarlet Witch said as she jumped to his aid. Magneto raised his hands and all of the metal spears in Harpoon's quiver lifted into the air, hovering around him like a dome.

            "Oh shit." Harpoon muttered to his impending doom as the spears descended upon him, piercing his flesh. The Scarlet Witch watched in disgusted horror.

            "How dare you murder someone!" How dare you, you monster!" She shouted at her father as she zapped his powers. Riptide smiled at her turned back as he took off into his whirlwind. The shurikens flew from his body and the first ones hit Scarlet Witch in her back. She let out a painful scream, alerting Quicksilver to her injuries. 

            "Leave her alone!" He shouted as he began running circles around the spinning Riptide. Shurikens hit Quicksilver in his shoulders, but he ignored them, thinking only of his sister like he used to when they were younger. He ran faster then he ever had before, lifting Riptide in the air. No longer having any ground to anchor himself on, Riptide was no longer able to spin. He floated in the air, disoriented and growing dizzy. Iceman zapped him in a case of ice. Quicksilver stopped running and Riptide fell to the ground. The ice shattered, but Riptide was unconscious. Psylocke used another psionic dagger in his head, making sure he stayed that way.

            Quicksilver stumbled over to The Scarlet Witch and collapsed, finally responding to the tendons torn by the shurikens. Magneto ripped them from his children's bodies and applied pressure to the wounds. Iceman, Toad and Psylocke all ran over to see if they could help. Scrambler, Slab and Ruckus followed them. Psylocke was too distracted to feel their presence and didn't know they were there until it was too late. Ruckus opened his mouth in her face, assaulting all their ears. Scrambler extended his hands to attack Toad and zap his powers out of control. The Scarlet Witch ignored her ringing eardrums, and managed to blast Scrambler before he could even touch Toad. Psylocke managed to kick her foot out and hit Ruckus in the ankle. He fell, making him shut his mouth. She leapt up to pin him down, overpowering him. 

            "Oh the memories, Psylocke." Ruckus said, knowingly pressing a button.

            "Shut up, you stupid piece of rubbish." She growled at him and his sexually implicit comment. 

            "Aww… they took all that skin out of your uniform… I guess I'll just have to imagine." He closed his eyes and leaned his back. 

            "Oh no you don't, you vicious pervert." But instead of joining him in his thoughts, she slowly rolled her knee over his groin, accidentally triggering him to scream again. After a moment of being blown away by the sound, she managed to give her hand anther purple glow and hit him in the head with it, knocking him out.

            "Take your sweet time." Quicksilver moaned at Psylocke.

            "Shut up." She growled back. 

            "Somebody help me…" The Scarlet Witch said, still battling Scrambler as she lay in Magneto's lap, unable to stand. Scrambler was beginning to gain on her. 

            "I got 'chya covered!" Iceman said, laying down a sheet of ice on the ground beneath Scrambler, causing him to slip. Toad hopped about and wrapped his tongue around Scrambler's wrists, having regained muscle control. Gorgeous George slipped himself around Iceman's ankles. Iceman tried to step out of him, but he couldn't free himself from the gelatinous goo. Instead, he sunk his hands into George's liquidy form and froze him still. Iceman slid out of him and tried to regain his composure. Scrambler was still trying to break free of his restraints, and flung Toad forward. Scrambler was surprised when Toad didn't let go, and he ended up flying forward with him. They both crashed into a solid George, shattering him into a million pieces. Magneto grew angry with Scrambler and used his powers to pluck a bloody spear out of Harpoon's body. He drove it straight though Scrambler's unwitting skull. The Scarlet Witch grimaced as rage soared up within her body. She suddenly saw flashes of being in a straight jacket and crying in the rain. Trees in the distance began bursting into flame. 

            "Wanda…" Magneto tried to calm her. "Wanda, this is not the time."

            "Then when is the time, father?" She said with an eerie calm as she pushed herself to stand, regaining feeling in her legs. She approached him, muttering hexes and curses. Slab was slowly walking up behind her with a big rock when Psylocke tapped him on the shoulder.

            "Slab, do you remember me?" Psylocke spoke to him as if he was a child. No one noticed what she was doing, for they were all too afraid of what The Scarlet Witch might do.

            "Is it still murder to kill a murderer?" Wanda whispered as she walked slowly toward Magneto.

            "I think so." Slab answered Psylocke. "Pretty…"

            "Thank you." Psylocke blushed. "Slab, do you know what you're doing?" He had to think for a minute to remember his instructions.

            "I think so." He said again. "Kill the X-Men."

            "Why would you want to do that?" She asked. Slab had to stop and think again, but he couldn't come up with an answer, so he shrugged his shoulders. "You're going to take a nap now, Slab." She informed him as her fist glowed purple again.

            "Okay." He said. Psylocke reached to extinguish her knife just under Slab's ear. He dropped the rock on Psylocke's foot and fell to ground. 

            "Goddammitt!!" She screamed as she nursed her throbbing foot. Still no one noticed as Magneto continued to back away from The Scarlet Witch. "Wanda! Cut it out!!" She ordered, not afraid to get involved. Still, no one answered.

            "Uh… guys?" Iceman said, his attention focused on the exposed pyramid.

            "Uh-oh." Toad trembled as he saw the same thing.

            "Wanda..? Wanda?!" Quicksilver tried to divert her concentration to the rumbling monument.

            "No… It can't be…" Psylocke muttered as the top of the pyramid dropped down inside, leaving an opening.

            "It can't be what?" Toad asked.

            "I've got a feeling it could be anything." Iceman interjected.

            "Guys… get back!!" Psylocke shouted, finally drawing The Scarlet Witch's attention away from killing Magneto. Magneto quickly created a protective magnetic shield around everyone. "Things are about to get biblical…"   

            – MEXICO –

            "You're a _clone_? That's fascinating!! How does it work?" Vertigo just looked at the Beast as if he was crazy. After her speech and what she had to say, this was the response she got? She was hoping for something more like absolute fear or complete terror, but instead, she was met with curiosity from a big, blue, fuzzy beast.

            "I think you're missing the point, Hank." Storm answered.

            "Geek." Vertigo mumbled under her breath. She looked over at Ruckus as she stepped behind him, signaling him to go. He opened his mouth and reverberated the sounds of the ocean waves in the Gulf of Mexico, magnifying it 1000 fold. The team was instantly debilitated.

            "This is so easy!" Vertigo had to shout to George over the echo. Standing behind Ruckus protected the Infinites from a direct assault. "I wonder if we're havin' it this good everywhere else!" Just then, Beast managed to kick up some sand into Ruckus's face, causing him to choke. Then Beast jumped up and pounced on him.

            "Great, Vertigo. Look what's your talking's got us!" George scolded her as he moved out to attack. 

            "Hey!" She shouted, offended. She was going to go after him and give him a piece of her mind when she was tackled from behind by Sunspot. "Get off me!" She ordered. Sunspot sat up, dizzy. Vertigo smiled at him wickedly as he went from his blacked out form back to normal… then green. Then he threw up on her. "Uggh… gross…"

            "Hey, you asked for it." Sunspot said as he fired up again. While she tried to wipe herself off without touching any of the vomit, Sunspot picked up a boulder off the ground and carried it over to Vertigo. "Hold this for me." He said, drawing her attention. 

            "Aahhh!!! No!!" She screamed as he dropped the rock on her. Harpoon charged up a spear with is bio-electricity and threw it at Sunspot. Magma fired up and shot thermal energy at them, melting them in mid air before they ever reached Sunspot. Scrambler snuck up on her from behind and put his hands on her shoulders, sending her powers out of control. She couldn't shut off her thermal heat blast, or its intensity. She aimed at the ground before she hurt anyone, forming a giant hole. It kept getting wider and wider, and deeper and deeper. Vertigo, under the boulder, and Harpoon fell in. Beast and Ruckus, still fighting nearly fell in as well. Sunspot dove in just in time to grab Beast's big paw before he slipped, but Ruckus fell into the abyss. Storm struck Scrambler with a bolt of lightning, shocking him into unconsciousness and pushing him over the edge the hole. When Scrambler let go, Magma was finally able to stop her blasting, but couldn't power down.

            "Concentrate, Amara." Storm tried to help her as she imagined the professor would do. Everyone rushed to her side, grateful for her help in their battles, even if she didn't do it on purpose. Sunspot stayed behind to continue fighting, as there was still much to do. Across the chasm, still standing at the base of the pyramid, Riptide took advantage of the fact that no one could reach him and started spinning. He hit Blob with his shurikens. Blob quickly altered his body mass to compensate and the shurikens bounced off him, and he stood as a shield to protect everyone else. Cannonball stepped back a few feet, then took off. The shurikens that hit him were deflected as he flew over the hole like a bullet. He dove straight into Riptide and pushed him back against the wall of the pyramid so hard, they both plowed right through it. Slab walked up behind him and plucked Cannonball off by the collar of his uniform, dazed. Riptide, however, didn't have the luxury of a kinetically invulnerable envelope and lost consciousness. Cannonball was too out of it to resist as Slab dangled his limp body over the hole. Sunspot, thinking quickly, took to the air, plucking Blob up with him as they flew over the hole. As they reached the other side, Sunspot threw Blob at Slab, knocking him back, but making him drop Cannonball.

            "SAM!!" Sunspot shouted as he darted down the hole after him. Sunspot flew as quickly as he possibly could down the surprisingly deep pit, but still couldn't get fast enough to catch up to Cannonball. Luckily, Cannonball regained his bearings just in time to activate his powers before hitting the bottom. He slammed into the ground so hard, it created a small crater, but he was safe. As he saw that his friend had safely reached the ground, Sunspot attempted to slow down, but he had gained too much momentum. They both screamed as Sunspot careened out of control toward Cannonball.

            "'Berto, SLOW DOWN!!" Cannonball shouted.

            "I can't!" Sunspot yelled back. The Beast peered over the edge to see what was going on, but they had gone too deep for him to see. Behind him, Storm was still tending to Magma, trying to get her to focus on controlling her powers. Neither of them noticed as George slithered up behind Storm. Before they knew it, George had engulfed Storm. Magma watched, too shocked to do anything as Storm gurgled her muffled screams.

            "Get me out of here!" Strom cried for help. Magma slowly backed away, working on auto pilot. She stared in petrified horror as George continued to wrap himself around Storm. "Amara, help me!" Storm begged from inside her gelatinous cocoon. Finally, Magma aimed her thermal heat blast at George and concentrated hard on not blasting Storm as well. All of the water in George's body quickly evaporated, and he hardened on Storm like a crispy tomb. All was quiet for a second until a bolt of lightening burst from within George, turning what was left of him into ash. When the dust settled, Storm was gasping for air as she tried to regain her focus.

            "Ororo, are you okay?" Beast said as he rushed to her side.

            "How could you leave me inside there?!" Storm heaved as she still struggled to lock on reality.

            "I- I- I'm sorry…" Magma stuttered, finally powering down as her powers returned to normal.

            "It's alright, Amara." Beast comforted both women at the same time. 

            "I'm sorry." Magma repeated.

            "YAHOOOOO!!!" Cannonball interrupted them as he suddenly shot up through the mouth of the hole, holding Sunspot. Beast, Storm and Magma all watched as they flew a few dozen feet into the air, then promptly fell to the ground.

            "Good catch, Sam." Sunspot grumbled as he dusted himself off.

            "Well, it was either that or let ya try an' stop yerself." Cannonball said back.

            "Hey guys!! What about me?!" Blob shouted from the other side, an unconscious Slab at his side. 

            "Push a bunch of rocks in, and I'll seal it up!" Magma said, hoping to rectify one of her errors. Everybody went to work repairing the damage. Magma melted the rocks that had been dumped in the hole and the ground once again became stable. Storm stirred up a wind to replace the sand of the beach back where it belonged. 

            "So… uh… What now?" The Blob asked Storm as he rejoined the group. They all looked to her for an answer.

            "Charles?" She said into her wrist communicator.

            "Storm? Have you defeated your group of Infinites?" The professor promptly responded.

            "Yes. What do we do now?"

            "You wait. You are far from finished." He answered.

            "Why? What--" Her question was interrupted by a heralding clash of thunder in the dusk sky. 

            "Uh… Storm?" The Beast asked for an explanation as the winds began to gust.

            "This isn't natural." Storm responded as the clouds of above began to swirl, acting as though they were trying to form a tornado. Storm's eyes began to glow white while the irises and pupils of her eyes disappeared as she attempted to connect with the atmosphere. The luminosity of her eyes quickly flickered out as the Earth was ripped away from its mother. In the clouds, where the funnel spout would drop down to the ground, the spinning grew faster and faster as a white light began to burn through from above. 

            "What's happening?!" Magma had to shout over the howling wind.

            "I don't know!" Storm yelled back, finally admitting her ignorance. Suddenly, the white light from sky dropped down. The beam of light crashed through the top of the pyramid, allowing for an opening. Something from within the pyramid rose up from the new entrance. The Beast and Storm had to squint to see what it was. "That's not what I think it is… is it?" Storm muttered to herself.

            "It can't be." Beast said back, afraid.

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**Rogue151 – Never fear, for… uh… ****_I_… am here!! You were definitely right about your predictions with the fighting and what not. I'm glad you could tell what was going on, I hate writing fight scenes because I this try to hard to be descriptive and it ends up going too slow. I hope this one passes inspection!! Also, don't cry, Rogue will be back in the NEXT chapter. That's right, the NEXT chapter! You better not miss it!!**

**Ishandahalf – Stick around, you won't be disappointed!! Rogue will be back next week, and we'll get a little taste of Romyness. And you talk about drama and excitement!! Was this dramatic and exciting enough for you?! Gah!! So demanding! Whatever you think of these past two chapters, it gets better in the next one, stick around and keep those reviews comin' supafast!**

**AthenaAlpha – Okay, don't worry now, Rogue will be back in the NEXT chapter!! (I'm I repeating myself a little here?) Thanks so much for your sweet review!! I know how you feel. I didn't really know anything beyond TAS cartoons until this summer when I totally took a nose dive into the comicverse. Uncannyxmen.net and mutanthigh.com are great internet resources for information on the comics. I'm glad you like my spin on things!! It's okay if you write long reviews… I have nothing better to do :*(  (just kidding!) Keep 'em comin'!!**

**X-Men fanitic – Yay!! Your reviews always make me soooo happy!! I'm glad you like the accents. I'm always afraid I'm layin' it too thick or not enough. (I live in the south, so you'd imagine writing southern accents wouldn't be that hard, but it is!) Keep your reviews comin' and I'll keep postin'!**

**Bea H. – Your review made me so happy!! (Do you and X-Men fanatic hang out or something??) I really don't know what to say. It knocked me off my rocker. It's so well put together and complete, and I really love that word 'recontextualised' it rocks my socks, baby. I'm so glad you like my fic so much!! You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that!! Thank you so much, and keep reading!! (By the way, I accept anonymous reviews, so you don't have to e-mail me. It's a lot easier and then every one can see your review too!) Thanks!!   **


	31. Chapter 31

Sorry it took me so long to post again, I've had a really bad week (got rejected from NYU… they can all just suck on my…) anyhoo… Woohoo! Here we go. I really like this chapter. I think it's really good. Oh, and you can all rest assured… ROGUE IS BACK!! You can throw out your boxes of tissues!! The wait is over!! Yay!! And I know I said there would be a bit of Romy, but it isn't as much as I originally thought. Only a touch. Just stick around, there will be more. So READ and REVIEW (and Happy Chanukah!) 

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            – SHPINX –

            "Yeah? So?" Wolverine grunted after Vertigo gave her speech. "I'm gonna live forever too."

            "Oh no… Your years will catch up to you. How do you think you appear this old past puberty?" She explained. "No, no. I will live like _this forever."_

            "Like a sixteen year old?" Mystique gasped. "Who wants to be sixteen forever? Sixteen sucks."

            "Well, if you're their mother…" Vertigo mumbled under her breath.

            "What did you say?" Mystique demanded.

            "FOREVER!" Vertigo reiterated, changing the subject back to the matter at hand. "Long after you have died under the heel of the high lord Apocalypse, and history has long since forgotten your miserable, pathetic, little insurgence, I will be leading the most sophisticated army in the universe." 

            "What about when you become obsolete?" Wolverine said.

            "What? What do you mean 'obsolete'?" Vertigo asked.

            "What about when something bigger and better comes along? If you're gonna be like this forever, you sure won't be advancing a lot." Wolverine pointed out. Vertigo stopped to ponder for a second. She tired to think of a comeback to what he had said, but his logic was irrefutable.

            "You know what?... you just… you just… you just SHUT UP!" She screamed, frustrated and doubtful.

            "No, Vertigo, you shut up." Ruckus said, shoving her out of the way. He opened his mouth, and Wolverine was the first to drop to his knees, his super hearing aided Ruckus's assault. There was nothing anyone could do as the sounds Ruckus emitted made each of their heads feel like they were going to explode.

            "You stupid, pink haired fruit, I'm in charge!"  Vertigo yelled as she elbowed Ruckus in the stomach. Wolverine quickly recovered and pounced on Ruckus, taking his attack personally. Mystique kicked Vertigo's feet out from under her and pinned her down. Vertigo attempted to activate her powers, but they didn't seem to be working.

            "You think that little mental balancing act is gonna work on me? I'm far too in control for that. I guess you're just gonna have to see me fight." Mystique challenged her. Vertigo was determined to defeat Mystique hand to hand.

            Harpoon was charging his spears and throwing them at Nightcrawler who was dancing and teleporting in and out of the way. His elusive moves didn't last for long, as Nightcrawler was pinned to the ground when a charged spear pierced the fabric of the shoulder of his X-Men uniform. Harpoon walked closer to Nightcrawler holding another charged spear over him, about to stab him through the chest with it. Berzerker snuck up behind him and grabbed the spear, charging it with his own electricity, and sending a shockwave down Harpoon's body, dropping him to the ground. 

            "Oh, man… thanks a lot." Nightcrawler gasped as Berzerker helped him pulled the harpoon out of the desert.

            "No prob." Berzerker smiled back. Pyro was busy scaring Slab and Riptide to death as he sent 30 ft. fire horses chasing after them. Eventually, one of Riptide's shurikens flew out from his body, ripping right though the tube that provided Pyro with the fuel from the pack on his back to the flame thrower on his wrist. He was distracted, trying to keep from losing precious kerosene while Scrambler poised from behind to attack him. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash in Scrambler's eyes.

            "AAHH!!! I'm blind!!" Scrambler shouted as his disrupting powers blasted off into space.

            "That's what you get!"  Jubilee shouted as Scrambler wriggled out of her grasp. He ran off, stumbling and rubbing his eyes.

            "Oh god… I think I'm making myself sick…" Vertigo mumbled after one of Scrambler's wild shots hit her. Mystique halted her physical attack as Vertigo dropped to her knees. "This has never happened before…" She grumbled as her face turned green.

            "How do you like it?" Mystique spat at Vertigo. Vertigo threw up violently, then Mystique mercilessly kicked her in the head, knocking her unconscious.

            As Pyro fought to tie up the loose end of his tube to keep from spilling his fuel, George snuck up on him, plugging and gumming up kerosene pack.

            "Hey, cut it out, you bloody wanker!" Pyro yelled at him, not being able to defend himself. Suddenly, Berzerker appeared, with the aid of Nightcrawler, and sunk his hand into George.

            "Don't move." Berzerker warned Pyro. Pyro just nodded meekly, not sure what he might do. Then, an electric pulse buzzed through George's body, sucking the electrons from the atoms in his body. The lack of polarity caused a rush of electrolytes into his cells, causing every single one to burst. Pyro watched in awe as George melted into a sticky puddle of goo on the dusty ground.

            "Bonzer…" Pyro uttered instead of 'thank you'. Berzerker just smiled at him.

            "Pretty, huh?" Jubilee said to Slab as she showed him her fireworks. 

            "Yeah…" Slab responded in a trance as he watched the lights dance on the palm of her hand.

            "Slab? What are you doing?" Riptide yelled at him.

            "Look." He answered, showing Riptide the fireworks display.

            "What? You moron." Riptide sighed with frustration as he smacked Jubilee's hand.

            "Ow, hey!" She squealed.

            "Hey!" Slab said indignantly as he shoved Riptide to the ground. Riptide looked up to see Wolverine standing over him, blood dripping from his claws.

            "C'mon, bub." Wolverine said as he grabbed the color of Riptide's shirt and dragged him behind the helijet. Nobody saw what happened next, but Riptide's muffled screams told the story. Jubilee was ready to fire up for Slab again when a firey bear growled up beside them. Jubilee just stared at it blankly, knowing it wasn't going to hurt her, but Slab screamed and ran off into the desert. 

            "You didn't have to do that." Jubilee grumbled at Pyro, disappointed that she had lost her audience.

            "Naw, I didn' have to. But for you, sheila, I wanted to." He winked at her sleazily, and Jubilee flashed him a sarcastic smile.

            "Alright, so what do we do now?" Berzerker asked as he and Nightcrawler joined Pyro and Jubilee. 

            "Why don't we ask our leader?" Mystique said coldly as she too appeared.

            "Charles said he hasn't heard from anyone yet since this whole 'Infinite' business began. His team is nearly done." Wolverine informed them as he walked out of the jet, retracting his claws back into his hands. 

            "Oh my god." Mystique said as she caught a glimpse off in the distance between the two other pyramids to where the other group of X-Men were fighting at the third. As everyone else watched, they could all see the geyser flowing into the sky.

            "Do you hear that?" Wolverine asked.

            "Nuh-uh." Jubilee responded for the group. 

            "Earthquake." Wolverine explained. "It must be pretty intense and very centralized."

            "Lance!" Pyro shouted, worried for his friend. He began to run off in that direction when he was stopped.

            "Where do you think you're going?" A voice called out calmly from the mouth of the Sphinx behind them. "Your battle is here… with me."

            "Rogue?" Mystique fearfully identified the floating figure that had called out to them. 

            "Rogue… filled with self-pity and doubt, so mercifully purged of the useless burden of emotion…" She replied. The X-Men stared at her in awe as she lowered herself to the ground. Her eyes glowed green with possession. Her face and voice were vacant and soulless. She wore her usual blank top and short black skirt she normally wore with her black tights and green mesh shirt, but her arms and legs were exposed, revealing just how white her skin really was. She calmly walked across the desert sand from the base of the Sphinx to the team, still staring in awe.

            "Sorry, Rogue, time to go bye-bye." Berzerker said, sparks flying from his fingers as he raised his harm to attack her when Mystique grabbed him.

            "You hurt one hair on her head, spark plug, and I swear to god I'll murder you." She warned him.

            "I knew you wouldn't hurt this body." Rogue smiled wickedly. "You are all pathetic weaklings for your feelings, and as such, you will fail. You are not fit to survive in the new world that dawns upon us. I am but a soldier. I am a horseman of the Apocalypse. I suck the life out of all that I touch, for I am the famine."

            – EGYPTIAN PYRAMID –

            "Rogue!" Gambit shouted as he saw her fly out of the Sphinx in the distance. He couldn't exactly make her out, but his heart told him it was her. He grabbed his coat off the ground where Shadowcat had left it, and he threw it over his shoulders to run toward the Sphinx.

            "No." Cyclops grabbed his arm. "Let them handle her. Your fight is here."

            "_'Handle her'?" Gambit repeated in disbelief and anger. "You better take yo' hand offa me Cyke-o, or I swear to God I'll--"_

            "Temper, temper Mr. LeBeau." Gambit and Cyclops both looked at each other as the bottom dropped out of their stomachs. Then they both turned to the source of the bone chilling voice.

            "Sinister… I knew you had somethin' t'do with this…" Gambit growled.

            "Somebody get Captain Obvious a cookie…" Sinister mocked him. 

            "Whatsa matter? Your _X-Man _Project fail?" Gambit taunted him back while Cyclops, Colossus, Avalanche, Shadowcat and the professor watched the exchange in confusion.

            "Well, as I always say: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Sinister replied.

            "That ain't what you always say. You always say: If you can't beat 'em, turn their DNA into genetic alphabet soup 'til they submit." Gambit said.

            "What's the X-Man Project?" Cyclops finally asked.

            "It's why Sinister kidnapped you an' Jean oh so long ago." Gambit answered before Sinister could open his mouth. "He thought your child would serve as a weapon against Apocalypse."

            "Ch- ch- child?" Cyclops stuttered nervously.

            "Apparently, it didn' work." Gambit added to reassure him.

            "Yes… you can thank Psylocke for that…" Sinister grumbled bitterly. "But since I've agreed to work _for_ Apocalypse, the X-Man Project is no longer an issue."

            "What kind of agreement?" Gambit barked as he and Sinister went back and forth. The team continued to watch , flabbergasted about the things they spoke about. No one had any idea just what Sinister was capable of.

            "Ah, yes, you do have some sort of preoccupation with the subject, don't you, Mr. LeBeau?"

            "I asked you a question." Gambit demanded. "What's the deal?" Sinister smiled at how easy it was to read Gambit's mind, even without using his super pumped telepathy.

            "After the revolution, in the new world, I will have any test subject I like; I will perform any experiment I want. My knowledge will become limitless." Sinister explained with a frightening twinkle in his burning red eyes as if he were a child receiving a gift at Christmas. The way he spoke about human life and torture with such reckless disregard made Gambit shudder. 

            "And?" Gambit said, trying to get his mind off the terrible images and memories running through his head.

            "And I serve him as the horseman Pestilence." Sinister stated simply.

            "Pestilence?" Gambit asked, curious about the meaning of the name.

            "I'm glad you asked." Sinister's cherry red lips parted in another fiendish grin, showing off his yellow, fanged teeth. "You are all familiar with a little bug I released into the air not so long ago. I believe you call it… the Legacy Virus…"

            "You are responsible for the death of my sister!" Colossus shouted, letting blind rage take over his calm demeanor.

            "Yes, quite the experiment that was…" Sinister continued unsympathetically. Colossus pushed his way through his team toward Sinister, and no one dared to impede his path. He grabbed Sinister by the collar of his black suit and snarled down in his face.

            "You killed an innocent child. You killed Illyana, And you will be punished." Sinister chuckled maniacally but said nothing. Instead, he began to dissolve into a cellular mist. The smoke wrapped itself around Colossus who was dumbfounded there was no longer anything in his metal grasp. The fog floated past the rest of the team and seemed to condense before their eyes. Cyclops put his hand on the button on his visor, ready to shoot when Sinister reformed.

            "Go ahead, Mr. Summers… As you can see, I've been enhanced. I now have complete molecular control over my body."

            "What about your mind?" The professor jumped in to protect his students. 

            "Don't try anything, Xavier. My mind is protected by Apocalypse himself." Sinister answered quickly.

            "Even against this?" Suddenly, a hand shot through the back of Sinister's head. No one noticed when Shadowcat slipped from the group behind Sinister. "Don't move." She warned him. Her voice was unusually harsh and cold, almost scaring her team mates. "You move, I solidify. I solidify, you die."

            "Kitty--" Avalanche started, trying to protect her from she was thinking about doing.

            "No!" She yelled back, stopping Avalanche in his tracks. "You hurt my friends. You hurt Rogue, you hurt Remy and Betsy and Evan and Peter. You hurt anyone of us, you hurt us all. If anyone deserves to die, it's you." Shadowcat whispered in Sinister's ear.  He just smiled an evil, vampire-like smile once again as he chuckled. Shadowcat prepared to unphase her hand when his head burst open, forming a ring around her hand. He took two steps forward then restored his molecular structure. He turned to see the expression of shock, horror and fear on her face. His amusement was cut short when Colossus jumped on him from behind. Shadowcat quickly rolled out of the way, and began to fall back to reality. She sat, starry eyed, confused about what she had almost done.  Sinister once again performed his misting, transportation trick and Colossus hit the ground with a thud.  Avalanche grew angry with the way he made Shadowcat feel. He rolled his eyes back in his head and clenched his fists, then stomped his foot on the ground, sending out a shockwave of earth. Sinister put his hands out and fired two yellow plasma bolts, quickly demolishing the wave. He then hit Avalanche in the chest with them, sending him falling back on the ground in pain. The professor tended to the quickly-out-of-commission and emotionally scarred X-Men while Gambit just watched, slowly letting his blood boil.  

            Cyclops fired an optic blast at Sinister, which seemed to be of some harm, then the two watched as the wounds healed before their eyes. Cyclops fired again, only Sinister opened two holes in his body, allowing the beams to fly right through him. Sinister knocked Cyclops back with more super amped plasma bolts. Cyclops fell to the ground and curled up in the fetal position, trying to reduce the damage he couldn't prevent.

            "Stop it." Gambit muttered to himself, no longer able to simply watch. "Stop it." He said again, a little louder. He clutched the black vial he'd pulled out of his coat pocket in his hand. "Stop it." He said again with an audibly raised voice. Sinister ignored him and continued his assault on Cyclops. Gambit squeezed the vial so tightly the metal casing began to buckle. Suddenly, it sparked and glowed pink in his hand. "STOP IT, SINISTER!" Gambit finally shouted. ":It ain't worth it!" He screamed and threw the vial at Sinister. It exploded at his feet and finally drew his attention.

            "It isn't worth it?" Sinister repeated with an eerily calm voice. "Why, control is worth everything. Even _she_ thought so." He gestured upward to the sky where Rogue was attacking her friends in the distance. Gambit clenched his teeth at the way Sinister disrespected her. Any feeling of anger, and hate, and frustration he had rose to his head. He slipped his hand in his pocket, pulled out a few playing cards, and charged them up. Sinister just smiled again. "You won't hurt me, Gambit. I'm the only father you've ever known that gave you the reverence you deserved."

            "You treated me like an animal." Gambit muttered. "I don' need no reverence…" He glanced up behind Sinister's shoulder in Xavier's direction to see Shadowcat, Avalanche, Cyclops and Colossus at his sides. "He's given me everything I ever needed… even if I didn' know I needed it."  

            "Him?" Sinister gasped in disbelief. "A father is there when you need them most. Who was there, Gambit? You'd just murdered Julien. Your families were threatening to kill you if you didn't leave. The man who adopted you decided his own life was more important than his son. Everything you had a negative thought about would explode. Xavier was too busy tending to everyone else. He was busy with the _good_ children, the children who didn't murder people. Where was _he_ when you needed him most?" Gambit took a moment to think. He looked for a way refute Sinister's logic. There had to be a way.

            "People make mistakes." Gambit said. His teeth were clenched so hard he was giving himself a headache. He was surprised by the fact that what he said felt so right and liberating. He never realized how much he needed to believe it. He said it to absolve himself more than anything. A burden had been lifted from his shoulders and every self deprecating feeling he'd ever turned inward on himself found its rightful place on Sinister.

            "Oh, a _mistake_?" Sinister mocked him. "How many mistakes does it take before it becomes reckless? Not only did he neglect you, he did so to Avalanche, and Pyro, to Toad, Blob, Quicksilver, Psylocke and Colossus… and Illyana."

            "Xavier never did a self serving deed in his life, and you know that. But _you… you took cut my head open… you made me beg. You took away my dignity." His anger and hate flared up in him like a fire working its way to his head where it was exaggerated by his headache which continued even though he'd loosened his jaw. "You made me bring you other people so you could do it to _them_. You exploited me. All I ever wanted to do was make you happy so you'd let me go. I _murdered_ forty people just to end it! You nearly turned Kate int'a killer too. You hurt Betsy, You hurt Peter… and you hurt Rogue. You promised me you wouldn' come near anyone I love. Ever. YOU PROMISED ME!!" Gambit yelled. His head burned with vengeful pressure. Sinister gave up on him and smiled._

            "I lied." He stated simply. Gambit grew an expression on his face that looked like he was about to howl with utter rage. Instead, Sinister shuddered as something within him sparked. Suddenly, a pink glow spread about his body from the inside out, charging him with explosive kinetic energy. Sinister quickly tried to become a fog again, but each cell that managed to break off of his body would become a bright pink star in the desert dawn. Everybody else watched in fascination, not completely sure what was going on. Gambit finally snapped back to reality when a frightening hissing noise came from Sinister. Sinister knew what was happening, but could do nothing to stop it. Gambit ducked down, covering his head. The hissing stopped when the world was silent for a split second until it happened. Sinister, in all his translucent white, evil glory exploded into a burning mess of blood, guts, and bloody body parts. The very stench assaulted Gambit's senses while Avalanche, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Cyclops all looked at him with fear and disgust. Gambit looked up to his team to see their reaction.

            "I think I'm gonna be sick…" Shadowcat said. Gambit felt sick himself as he filled with guilt and remorse.

            "What did you do?" Cyclops asked. His tone was merely confused and curious, but to Gambit, it took him back to memories of accusation and fear.

            "Not again…" He mumbled as he curled up on the ground and put his hands on his head. "He fixed me…"

            "Remy?" The professor said as he wheeled beside him. "Remy?" The professor tried to calm him as he began rocking back and forth.

            "No! Get away!" Gambit warned him as the wheelchair the professor sat in began glowing pink. Xavier was surprised at first but quickly regained his composure.

            "Remy, listen to me. I need you to concentrate. Your powers are simply evolving."

            "No! No! I don' wanna hurt you!" 

            "You can do this. I know you can. Think hard because I'm not going anywhere, Remy, and I know you don't want to me." Xavier said. Gambit looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, truly scared and sorry. He sat up and furrowed his brow as he continued to rock back and forth, grabbing at his hair with his hands, trying to concentrate hard. Finally, the wheelchair returned to normal as Gambit managed to uncharge it. The professor heaved a sigh of relief  as he no longer felt his life was in danger. "It'll be okay, Remy. We'll figure this out."

            "Just get away before I hurt someone again."

            "You okay, Kitty?" Cyclops asked. Avalanche was holding her hair back while she threw up on the ground. 

            "Yeah… I'll be okay, just… body parts…" She grumbled. Avalanche shrugged his shoulders then began rubbing her back.  Suddenly, Cyclops perked up as if he heard something.

            "What?" Avalanche asked him, afraid of what could happen next. Cyclops didn't answer, he only smiled. "What is it?"

            "She's coming." He answered. Avalanche just looked at him as if he was crazy. Cyclops didn't even have to look at him to know what he was thinking. "She's coming." He said again. Finally, far off in the distance, a horrifying shriek could be heard.

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Rogue151 – Yay!! I'm so glad things are going well for you. Ahh… to inspire another writer… that makes me happy. Okay, Rogue is back, what do you think??

Ishandahalf – I love those nerds who are just so nerdy it impacts every aspect of their lives!! Just so long as they can laugh at it too!! Okay, sorry about the lack of Romyness, don't worry; you will not be disappointed in the end. So, Rogue is back!! Let me know you think!! Keep those reviews a comin' supafast!!

X-Fan – you made my day!! I hate writing fight scenes, I'm amazed you can follow them. If I made movies, they would be awesome, but in my writing, I think it sucks. I'm glad you like it though. Your compliment made me so happy!! So, yeah, Rogue is back. I'm sorry three isn't as much Romy as I thought, but there's a little in there. Much, much more to come. Just stayed tuned and keep reviewin'!


	32. Chapter 32

Woohoo!! Oh so many reviews and new reviewers!! I love you all!! I hope you all had a great holiday (Chanukah rocked at my house!) and I hope you'll have a great new year! I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter, I had that one in my head since I started writing this thing oh so many months ago! I hope this chapter is good, and the next one will be awesome!! Once again, sorry about the lack of Romy in the last chapter, I PROMISE lots of Romy in the next chapter, as well Jonda for all those Jonda fans out there. I hope this dose of Betsy/Warren will hold you over for a while. The next chapter is gonna be… uh… something big, so stick around!! Oh yeah, and, as always, Keep Reviewing!!            

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            – CHINA –

            "What is it?" Magneto demanded from Psylocke as the team waited inside a magnetic shield. Quicksilver continued to apply pressure to Scarlet Witch's wounds as his own began to heal rather quickly. Toad and Iceman just watched, waiting for what was going to happen next. Psylocke stood at the barrier of the shield as the watched the rumbling pyramid, more concerned and doubtful than she had ever been before. She tried to ignore still the terrible images of painful death and mistakes. 

            "I'm not sure, shut up." She said back without turning her head. Suddenly she shuddered as she felt whatever it was that was stirring with the pyramid burst form the top. It shot straight through the tip of the pyramid without heed and high up into the air. At first, it went too fast to see, but Psylocke knew what it was. She immediately turned away, her fears having been confirmed. Iceman stood up to meet her as she buried her head in his chest. All he could do was watch, just as everyone else, as whatever it was began to slow down.

            "Angel…" Iceman muttered fearfully as he saw the man in the sky display his expansive wing span. His eyes glowed green as he callously looked down on the team within the magnetic bubble shield. There was a calm silence for a moment until Angel beat his wings and two firey bombs, one from each wing, flew at the shield like torpedoes. They all cowered; unsure the shield would protect them. It faltered a bit as the fire crashed against it, but remained stable. 

            "What was that?" Toad asked Psylocke.

            "I don't know." She said indignantly at the fact he thought she would have all the answers.

            "Whoa, man, it's rank." Toad replied.

            "Ughh… like rotten eggs." Iceman added as he attempted to waft away the stench in front of his nose.

            "Sulfur." Magneto concluded. "He's raining down sulfur."

            "How long is this going to hold up?" Psylocke asked as Angel squeezed out two more pellets of burning sulfur from his wings. They hit the shield and once again it buckled under the pressure, causing Magneto to wince.

            "Not long, I'm afraid…" He admitted, much to the harm of his pride.

            "Let me out then, I'll see if I can talk him down." Psylocke proposed.

            "Hey… no way." Iceman said protectively. "I doubt that's safe."

            "Shut up, Bobby." She responded defiantly.

            "Listen, if she thinks she can get somewhere with this 'winged-wonder' let her go. What chance do we have otherwise?" Toad argued. "I mean, _I'm not gonna do it." Magneto sighed as Psylocke dug her heels into the ground, adamant about her point. He looked up to Angel in the sky as another burning sulfur bomb torpedoed their way. Once again, Magneto felt the assault on the magnetic field. He grimaced, then carefully waited for the moment to let the shield down. Psylocke ran out, not exactly sure where to go once she was free. As soon as she cleared the barrier, the shield was re-initiated. Angel immediately took it upon himself to destroy her, throwing burning sulfurous ash at her._

            "Warren!" She shouted as she tried to gain his attention. He merely continued his assault as she ducked out of the way and slashed the bombs with her sword. "Angel, stop this!" She shouted again.

            "Angel is no more." He said suddenly and stoically.

`           "What?" She said frustrated, hoping for a different answer.

            "I herald the Apocalypse. He is judge and jury in the trail of who is fit to go on in the new world… I am the executioner." He explained, sulfur raining from the sky. Psylocke couldn't help but notice, as he was speaking, the sulfur bombs destroyed everything in their path, but left her unharmed, falling in a ring that stretched around her two feet on all sides. "I am the Archangel of Death."

            "I won't believe that." She said forcefully. "You wanted to help people! How could you--" 

            "The world will be a better place when it is rid of the burden of the weak of body and mind." He cut her off. "Your hopeless affection for Warren Worthington has left you careless. You must be removed."

            "Then kill me!" She screamed.

            "What?!" Iceman yelled from inside the helpless cove. 

            "He can't do it!" Psylocke reassured him. "Warren's resisting Apocalypse's control, he can't kill me!" She looked up at the Archangel to see another sulfur bomb hurdling right at her. She was too shocked to move out of the way, but found herself lying on the ground under a tree, Quicksilver on top of her.

            "Are you crazy??!!" He screamed at her. "You trying to get yourself killed?!" She looked up over his shoulder at another sulfur bomb falling from the sky. He looked up at the bomb but, they couldn't get out of the way in time. They both cowered, not knowing what to do, then suddenly, the bomb was deflected by an ice shield over them.

            "C'mon, stay under my bridge!" Iceman shouted as he reached under the shield. 

            "Thanks, Ice cube, but we're outta here." Quicksilver grabbed Psylocke and carried her under the magnetic bubble in a split second. Iceman trailed behind on his bridge. The sulfur bombs following after him hit the bridge, then rolled off. But eventually, they managed to melt through it. The bridge was in trouble of collapsing when the bombs abruptly stopped. He looked behind him to see why, and saw the bombs moving to side as they approached the bridge from above. Then he looked ahead of him to see the Scarlet Witch straining as she raised her hands in the air to hex the projectiles aside. He made it back under the shield safely, allowing the Scarlet Witch to breathe a sigh of relief, no longer having to exert her powers under such stress and exhaustion.

            "What are we gonna do?" Toad shouted with fear and frustration as Psylocke beat Quicksilver who was holding her back from rushing out to the Archangel.

            "Leave me alone! I can get him to--" She shouted.

            "Silence." Magneto demanded. "Heroics like that will only get you killed." He spoke mostly to Psylocke, but also to Quicksilver at his attempt to save Psylocke. "If you won't follow orders, I'll deal with both you and the bird-man myself. You have no one to run to this time, Psylocke. You will follow my commands."

            "No, you listen to me!" Psylocke screamed as she stomped Quicksilver's foot, getting him to let her go. "Look, he's still there, he's still fighting Apocalypse, I swear to you he is." She pleaded, then turned her focus to Scarlet Witch. "If you zap him, maybe it'll break down his defenses enough for me to knock him out."

            "No. She's too weak." Magneto answered for her, trying to protect his daughter as she sat on the ground.

            "I'll do it." Scarlet Witch demanded in defiance. Suddenly, they all jumped as a sulfur bomb finally ripped its way through Magneto's shield.

            "Nobody freak, I got it covered." Iceman said as he blasted it over, turning it into a ball of ice. 

            "We're running out of time." Magneto sighed. "If you are going to do it, it has to be now." Psylocke looked over Magneto's shoulder at a weary Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch nodded at Psylocke, signifying she was ready to go. Then Psylocke nodded at Magneto. He sighed one last time, and the magnetic dome that had been protecting them came down.

            "Angel, listen to me!" Psylocke pleaded with him as Toad, Quicksilver, and Iceman took off to divert him from hurting everyone. The Scarlet Witch could do nothing, having to preserve her energy. "Warren, it's me, Betsy, remember?" She said, hoping it would snap him out him stupor enough to stay still for a moment. "The museum… just a couple of weeks ago… remember? We had a pash under the Van Gogh painting! Warren, just please, listen to me!" She was growing frustrated as he was unresponsive. Suddenly, the Archangel turned to stare at her. She thought for a moment she was getting through to him, until he beat his wings in her direction and a firey ball flew at her. When it hit the ground in front of her and exploded, it knocked her back to where Magneto was protecting the Scarlet Witch.

            "You are failing!" Magneto spat at her. She just looked at him, and out of the blue, remembered something Emma had said.

            "_Jason cried like a little girl." Psylocke remembered. _

            "What are you staring at?" Magneto asked her with disgust as she made no action. Quicksilver and Toad were trying their best to keep the Archangel occupied, hopping and running about, so he wouldn't hurt the Scarlet Witch, Magneto or Psylocke. 

            "Mastermind…" Psylocke mumbled as she looked at Magneto and remembered the Jason she knew, and the Acolytes.

            "What about him?" Magneto was growing impatient.

            "Jason Wyngarde… Reagan… his daughter Reagan…" Psylocke continued to mumble. Finally, she looked away from Magneto and up at the Archangel. "Warren, you know me." Psylocke said as she got up to try again with Archangel. "Elisabeth Braddock, remember? You said you knew my name." He finally stopped his assault on Toad and Quicksilver, giving both them and Iceman a break, fire raging the Chinese landscape. "It was Reagan Wyngarde's birthday party. I told you I was 15, but I was only 13. You were just there for the weekend, but I lived there, remember? We played spin the bottle. I didn't remember it myself until now. I didn't _want_ to remember the Hellfire Club. But I know now, it wasn't all bad. I met _you, Warren, and here we meet again. It's destiny. You were my first kiss." Everyone stopped to stare at her and the way she just opened herself up. No one present had ever seen her so vulnerable. Archangel hovered silently in the air as he tried to contemplate her words. Suddenly, he was hit in the back with a hex bolt. The Scarlet Witch finally collapsed in her father's arms due to her physical wounds and exhaustion.  Psylocke watched helplessly as Archangel dangled in the air, about to fall since he was no longer able to use his wings. Iceman created a slide to catch him as he soared toward the ground. When the Archangel landed, he appeared lifeless and unconscious. Iceman cautiously came to his aid. Psylocke stayed put. She felt as though there was a voice telling her not to go near him, but she wasn't sure if she could trust it._

            "Warren?" Iceman asked carefully. "Angel?"

            "No… wait…" Psylocke finally muttered as Iceman put his hand on Archangel's shoulder to shake him. "No!--" All of a sudden, he sprung to life, beating his wings in Iceman's face and throwing burning ash in his eyes.

            "AAAAHHHH!!!!!!" Iceman screamed. Psylocke ran first to Iceman. She helped him concentrate on not feeling the pain while she aided him in getting the ash out of his eyes. The Archangel kept flapping burning ash from his wings, waiting until he could once again take flight. Magneto raised the last two of Harpoon's spears off the ground and sent them through Archangel's wings and into the ground, pinning him down. He let out a painful howl as Psylocke left Iceman to go to side. 

            "You didn't have to do that!" Psylocke shouted at Magneto as she straddled Archangel and smacked him in the side of the head with a psionic dagger. The Archangel screamed as he fell unconscious, this time, for real. "Warren? Warren??" She pleaded with him to wake up. "Warren?!" She grew frantic when she could no longer sense anything within him. "Warren? My Angel?? Oh please wake up… Warren?" Finally, he moaned as he blinked his eyes open.  She heaved a sigh of relief when the green glow was gone, and she could see his cool blue eyes. "Warren…" She finally said, exasperated.

            "Didn't you used to be a blond?" He whimpered at her. 

            "Yes…" She smiled, on the brink of tears of joy. "Yes… among other things."

            "Bobby… I'm sorry, man." Angel said as he lay on the ground. Iceman was still sitting in the dirt trying to get the sulfur out of  his eyes. He used his own cooling powers to soothe the burn.

            "I… uh… I think I'll be okay." Iceman answered. Angel looked up at Psylocke still straddling him with a knee at each of his hips, and tried to sit up, only making worse the pain in his wings.

            "Stay there!" Psylocke instructed him. "Magneto, get those things out of him." She growled angrily. Magneto, sitting on the ground, reluctantly raised one hand in the air to lift out the harpoons while he held an unconscious Scarlet Witch's head in the other. Psylocke focused on releasing Angel of his pain while the spikes were pulled out of him. When they were gone, Angel fell back on the ground and watched as Psylocke reopened her eyes. He put a hand on her cheek and smiled at her. She nestled his hand then looked at him; something wasn't right. She moved her face away from for him to see his hand remained. He was frozen in place. "What's going on?" Psylocke asked as she waved her hands in front of Angel's face.

            "What do you mean?" Magneto asked bitterly.

            "He's just stuck there… as if time stopped for him." She answered. Then she got a very odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

            "Whoa…" Quicksilver said as he and Toad admired his rigid form. They poked at him, but he didn't move.

            "Hey, man, another statue!" Toad said with excitement.

            "Don't even joke like that!!" Psylocke screamed at him. Then, the feeling in her stomach rose to her throat as she saw a bright orange light reaching over the horizon.

            "What is that?" Magneto asked. The light moved so quickly, the team could do nothing but brace for impact as it enveloped them all where they stood. 

            – MEXICO –

            "How can that be?" Storm asked the Beast in disbelief. "How could she just come out of a coma like that?"

            "I don't know!" was Beast's reply over a clap of thunder. "If he can clone, who knows what else he could do!" 

            "Do we know who that is?" Magma interjected, pointing to the woman hovering over the hole in the top of the pyramid. She wore a black swim suit type uniform with a lightening bolt across the torso and black, thigh high boots. She had a black mask over her peacefully shut eyes as she looked up in the sky. Her long blonde hair danced over her head and shoulders as it defied gravity.

            "That's Carol Danvers… Miss Marvel…" Storm answered solemnly.

            "Oh…" Magma muttered, remembering the woman now. She bathed in the light that came down from the clouds. She absorbed its energy and soaked up its power. The team was too stunned by what they saw to do anything until Storm reached out.

            "Carol, what are you doing?"  Storm yelled. Carol calmly bowed her head from the hole in the sky. When she opened her eyes, the green glow radiated off of her black mask, sending the team back a few steps, shocked. It was the first time they'd ever seen her eyes open, and even still, they couldn't see them.

            "Why do you call me that? I know of no 'Carol'." She answered. Her voice was calm but angry; it spread out over the howling winds and roaring thunder. "I am the sower of hate and discord. I bring vengeful conflict and irreparable damage. I am the Warbird, horseman of the Apocalypse."

            "No…" Beast muttered.

            "Hey, listen lady--" Sunspot started,

 overly confident. Warbird reached her hand up into the air and made a fist, as if she was grabbing some of the essence of the light. Then she cast her hand back down, throwing the raw power back at Sunspot, sending him flying back into the deep woods of the Yucatan peninsula. 

            "Alright, Beast, she's made her first move. We can't stall now. You lead the ground assault; I'm going to try to take care of whatever's up there that's giving her her power. Blob, you go get Roberto." Storm directed. Everyone did as they were ordered. Storm took to the air with a shaky start, fighting hard to pull some wind out of the tornadic atmosphere. The Warbird watched angrily as she pulled more light, preparing to throw it at Storm. She smiled as she was about to carry out Apocalypse's command, when her hand was held back. She looked over her shoulder to see Beast holding her arm, and Cannonball crashing back into the ground after having dropped him off at the top of the pyramid.

            "Carol, please, this isn't you." The Beast pleaded with her.

            "Me? How do you know what is me? _I_ do not know what is me." With that, she pulled her arm down, sending Beast flying through the air, just as Sunspot and Blob were emerging from the forest. Sunspot screamed in the Blob's arms as Beast came hurdling toward him. The Blob calmly raised Sunspot up in the air, and Beast crashed into his stomach.

            "Hey, watch where you're goin'!" Blob shouted at Beast indignantly. The Beast grumbled as she reeled from his collision.

            "Sorry…" He mumbled as he sat up on the ground, then he looked up at Storm wrestling with nature in the sky. She could barely keep a stable position in the air as the winds fought to follow her commands over the Warbird's. Storm called the clouds to calm and separate as they spun around the light beam, but her cries were unheeded. They were moving too fast to break their momentum. She tried to lift herself above to see the source of the light, but the storm clouds were so thick they acted as a wall, preventing her from getting through. She acted as a conductor for lightening in hopes of relieving the unnatural pressure on the atmosphere, but it merely allowed for more pressure to be added. Storm barely got a glimpse of her impending doom as Warbird smiled wickedly at her. Warbird pulled at the light once again to throw it at Strom, when a wall of lava flew up in front of her. She grew frustrated at it, then directed the power of the light at it, instantly cooling it. 

            "Whoa…" Magma said as her control was being tested again. Then the wall of hard rock was shattered as the light bursted through it.

            "Sunspot?!" Beast yelled at him, hoping he could do something to stop the horseman.

            "There's nothing I can do!" He answered. "The clouds are too thick. I can't fire up."

            "I'm on it!" Cannonball shouted as he took a few steps back. He shot off into the air, headed straight for Warbird at the top of the pyramid while she was distracted with Storm. When she finally saw him coming, Warbird tried to blast him, but his envelope of kinetic invulnerability protected him. Cannonball braced for impact as he collided with her, since he wasn't very good at slowing down. He hit the Warbird with enough force to knock her out of the light beam, and onto the ground. Nature reacted with Warbird's removal from the light, and the clouds and winds began to slow down. When the two landed, Warbird was on her back with Cannonball on top. 

            "Get off me!! Get offa me!!" She shouted frantically as she tried to wriggle her way out of Cannonball's grasp, but without the light, she had no power. "No! Don't touch me!!" 

            "Calm down, lady, you'll be okay." Cannonball tried to reassure her, growing afraid of her erratic behavior.

            "No! No!--" Suddenly, Warbird froze solid as stone. 

            "Whoa…" Cannonball muttered as he stood up.

            "What happened?" The Beast asked as he rushed to Warbird's side. 

            "I didn't do it!" Cannonball blurted out.

            "What happened?" Beast asked again as he poked at the Warbird, completely solid. Suddenly, the light beam withdrew back into the clouds from where it came, no longer having anything to anchor it down. Storm was able to calm herself down, no longer struggling with the sky, but working with it, parting the clouds and sending them back into the atmosphere where they belonged. The night sky revealed itself, calm, warm, and clear.   

            "What's going on? I couldn't hardly draw enough winds to keep myself aloft, let alone--" Storm stopped dead once she landed on the ground to see the paralyzed silhouette of the Warbird. "What's… how did…?" She stuttered.

            "She just stopped." Cannonball answered.

            "Oh my god!" Magma shouted, drawing to their attention to the bright orange light sweeping across the sky. It replaced the dark night and wrapped up the X-Men without warning.

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**Rogue151 – I don't usually answer questions like this, but I think you're just reading into it too far. It isn't Malice, it's just plain ole Apocalypse. Check out Ascension, the horsemen all had a funky green glow in their eyes. Sorry no Rogue in this one, definitely in the next chapter though. Stick around, next chapter will be AWESOME!!**

**Deacon – Sorry for the cliffhangers… but it keeps you all interested. Thanks for the offer on helping with my fight scenes, but I prefer to keep it… y'know… I just don't like to share! Plus, I reveal no secrets… not to anyone! Keep reviewing, and the next chapter will be totally awesome!**

**sakura blossoms4 – Hey, a new reviewer!! Nice. I really like your name, is it from "The Narrow Road to the Interior"? I just read that in English class, and somehow, it sounds familiar. Anyhoo, thanks for the compliment, stick around, the next chapter will be great!**

**Aro – Yay!! You're back!! Don't neglect my story any longer! If others must suffer because of it, so be it!! Sorry you had to read it over, this one big piece of work, let me tell ya!! The end is drawing near though, I'll be sad when it's over. But keep reviewing and maybe it won't be so bad! **

**Ishandahalf – Alright Romy lover, hope this was quick as a bunny on crack… however fast that bloody is!! What are the units for that? Bunnies on crack per second? Bunnies per gram of crack per hour?? Well, whatever, just get back to me on that! Sorry, there wasn't much Romy in the last chapter like I purported, and none in this chapter (Hopefully Betsy/Warren will tide you over???) There will DEFINITELY be Romy in the next chapter, as well as Jonda, so stick around! And keep those reviews a comin' supafast!**

**X-Men Fanitic – Hey, thanks! I totally didn't think the Prof and Storm were gonna be horsemen (Mystique and Magneto were given though) but I like the way the show did it. Even though I liked that way, I'm a die hard comic fan, so I thought it was blasphemy that Angel wasn't a horseman!! Fixed that problem though! Sorry about the lack of Romy, but there will be plenty in the next chapter, I swear!! **

**aimtbj – Yay!! Another new reviewer!! Are you situated well on the edge of your seat? I wouldn't want you to fall!! Stick around, Next chapter will kick ass! And, like the review whore that I am, Keep reviewing!!**

**Caliente – Hey!! Whassup?? Where ya been?! Oh well, you're hear now, and I love you for it. Thanks so much for the compliments about my fight scenes, I'm having particularly difficult time with the one I'm writing now, but, I should have it done soon (Nothing to do over Winter Break! w00t!). Hey, better just leaving some things to the imagination than ruining them, right?? Well, keep those reviews a comin'!!**

**jadesky1 – Woohoo!! Another new reviewer!! Yay! I love you! I'm glad you enjoy the romyness, more in the next chapter, I promise. Thanks for your collation on NYU… I'm very bitter now… it is their loss!!! I'm sorry about the whole Creole/Cajun thing. I always thought there was a difference, but I was never exactly sure what it was. I certainly didn't mean to offend, I won't make the mistake again. Thanks for pointing it out, and thanks for reading! Stick around for the next chapter!**

**X-Fan – Don't sweat it, more Romy next chapter. And every time you review, you make my day!! I'm so glad I have an addicted fan!! You might want to steer clear of hard drugs, those aren't good addictions. But keep reviewing my story, and the Next chapter will be great, I guarantee it!!**


	33. Chapter 33

Okay, next chapter is up!! There is Romyness in this chapter, to all my fellow shippers!! As well as some Jonda! No Romy in the next chapter… I've just got too much going on, but then, we reach our conclusion, and there will be a Romy explosion, like I said before! Stick around; next chapter will be a clash of Titans (not my Tennessee Titans… w00t!!) Oh so many reviews this chapter!! I love you all!! Just keep doin' what you're doin'!! And I hope you all had a Happy New Year!! (Eat your black-eyed peas????)

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            – SPHINX –

            "Rogue… you don't want to hurt us…" Mystique pleaded as the X-Men slowly backed away from Rogue standing before them, cold, vacant, and unpredictable.

            "'Want'… I have no desires… no more." Rogue responded as she took slow steps closer to Mystique. The X-Men watched her carefully as Rogue stopped and bent down to pick up a scorpion scurrying across the ground in front of her, unaware of the plight of the world. Rogue held it up in the air between her thumb and index finger, displaying it for all to see. The scorpion thrashed about in her grasp, trying to sting her or break free. She smiled fiendishly as the scorpion suddenly began to shrivel up as it hung in the air. Once the scorpion gave up its fight, Rogue tossed the carcass aside. All of her fingers quickly began to reshape themselves, resembling the points of the scorpion's tail. She unexpectedly lashed out, trying to catch Mystique with her venom. Instead, Mystique quickly jumped back out of the way, and Wolverine jumped in from the side to grab Rogue. She used Magneto's powers that she had stolen many months ago, and froze Wolverine's skeleton in place. She slowly reached her hand out to touch Wolverine on the face when she was interrupted by a firecracker exploding at her heels. She turned around to see Jubilee standing behind her, some distance away, looking scared and unsure after having acted brashly to save Wolverine. Rogue threw her hand down and Wolverine went crashing into the ground as she changed her focus. The green glow of Rogue's eyes faded to red as she called up Cyclops' power. She gritted her teeth in anger as she blasted Jubilee. Jubilee was hit so hard she was knocked off her feet and thrown in the air, then skidded across the ground where she stopped, unconscious. Berzerker aimed to fire at her from behind, but she rose up into the air, evading his electric bolt. Rouge raised her hands in the air to draw in storm clouds, and hit Berzerker with a lightning bolt, but it only made him stronger. He fired at her again, and she used Shadowcat's power to phase it through her. She only grew more frustrated, the green glow of her eyes flashing with rage as she opened up the storm clouds and dropped sheets of rain on him. Berzerker's powers were short circuited and he dropped to the ground.

            "Rogue… chère, you don' wanna do this. Please… you can fight Apocalypse. I know you can." Rogue looked down from the heavens to see Gambit calling to her from below. For a moment, she felt her heart cry for him. The rains began to dry up and the clouds quickly departed, and she stared at him beneath her. Suddenly, a command coursed through her veins and she shot at him with a psychic bolt.

            *BAMF!* 

            Nightcrawler quickly teleported in, grabbed Gambit, and teleported out.

            *BAMF!* 

            When they reappeared out of harm's way, Gambit began to morph back into Mystique. 

            "It was a good try, mother." Nightcrawler said. Mystique turned to grumble in his face, but once she made eye contact, she couldn't be frustrated with him anymore. 

            Pyro made his way to the front line below Rogue, at the paws of the Sphinx. "Alright, sweetheart, you're makin' me angry… No more temper tantrums." He warned her. Pyro flared up his working flame thrower and created a wall of fire. He held it between Rogue and himself, in an attempt to protect the rest of the team as well. He fed it more fire, forming the addition into a giant lion, pacing back and forth in front of the wall.  Rogue showed no reaction as she simply put up her arms and took control of the fire. She created a small area of thin lames so Pyro could see her face through it as she smiled at him. "Oh… right… CRAP!" He said as it hit him that she had absorbed his own power not too long ago. He took off running back toward the jet, away from the Sphinx as the hole grew and the lion jumped through, chasing after Pyro. Then, Rogue sent the wall of fire crashing down on him. The rest of the X-Men scattered, leaving Jubilee where she was, safely behind Rogue, and Nightcrawler teleported Berzerker out of the way, not having enough time to save Pyro too. Rogue was too strong for Pyro to fight back with his mutant abilities. When he finally decided he wasn't going to be able to outrun the fire, he crouched down on the ground to try and protect himself as he best he could, even if it was a futile attempt. As the lion and the wall grew closer to him, the two merged together. Rogue was enjoying the power Apocalypse gave her when it suddenly began to slip from her fingers. As the fire collapsed on Pyro, it began to reform into a bird. The firey bird wrapped its wings around Pyro, and he no longer felt afraid. He was filled, instead, with a sense of inner peace and calm. He stood up as the bird protected him and caressed his skin. He looked up to see Rogue surprised by this turn of events. Pyro's eyes glowed orange as he once again threw the fire up at her. Rogue didn't move, refusing to be weak; willing to die if she was. The bird suddenly stopped before it engulfed Rogue. Instead, the bird looked her in the eyes, and before she knew it, she was looking into Jean's eyes. Jean hovered in the air in front of Rogue, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. The two stared at each other for a moment, as the dancing flames of the fire gradually went into slow motion. Jean wore the black leather clothes and high heeled boots she had left the Hellfire Club in, but as she hanged in the air with her arms calmly folded across her chest, the black leather became a dark red and a yellow bird spread across her torso as she telekinetically rearranged the molecules of her clothing.  The team on the ground merely stared in awe as they watched Jean in the sky. Another command coursed through Rogue and she reached her hand out to touch Jean's face, but Jean didn't flinch.

            "Red?!" Wolverine called out to her, trying to stop her from letting Rogue touch her face. Jean didn't react, but Wolverine's mouth started to sink back into his face, his lips sealing themselves shut. He was stopped dead in his tracks. Rogue continued to reach out to Jean's face, and when nothing happened, Rogue was dumbfounded.

            "How… how can this… but Apocalypse--"

            "Be still." Jean finally spoke with a calm, echoic, booming voice. The Earth sighed with relief, breathing from every rock, every tree, every grain of sand. Jean reached her hand out and gently brushed Rogue's cheek. As their skin made contact, Rogue froze. She hanged in the air above the Sphinx like solid stone. Little did these X-Men know, a shockwave had gone out to anyone connected to Apocalypse, freezing them in the same way as they prepared for transition. As Jean turned to face the team, she moved in slow motion, trying to absorb every possible moment with all possible senses. She slowly waved her hand and Wolverine's mouth rose back to the surface of his face. "You should not worry for this body… for this person. One could not dare to absorb the life force of the universe. Your concern is pure and selfless. You will be rewarded in a manner fitting for your actions." The team just looked at each other confused and amazed.

            "What the HELL is going on?" Mystique growled.

            "It's the Phoenix." Pyro muttered in a daze as he joined his comrades. "She showed me… just for a second…" He smiled as he reveled in the ecstasy the Phoenix had imparted to him.

            "What is a Phoenix?" Mystique asked as she rolled her eyes at Pyro and asked Wolverine.

            "It's… uh… anything and everything… I guess…" He answered. Mystique just rolled her eyes again, knowing she wasn't going to get a comprehensive response.

            "What are you?!" Mystique finally yelled up at Jean.

            "I am the embodiment of the power of the universe." Jean replied simply, but Mystique couldn't understand.

            "What does that mean?!" Mystique shouted, frustrated.

            "What are you beyond dust and moisture and happenstance? I am no more… on my _own scale." The Phoenix answered. Mystique was growing angry by the lack of any cohesive response she was receiving._

            "What have you done to Rogue?!" Mystique ultimately blurted out.

            "Do not fear for her. She is a person in bondage and thus, not a whole person. I would not expect your feeble mind to comprehend." Before any of the X-Men could respond, the Phoenix made her hands into fists and pulled her elbows into her sides. Her body strained fiercely as she forced out the energy of stars. A yellow orange glow shot out of her heart, the firey rapture about her screaming violently as the light enveloped the Earth. The X-Men wanted to watch her to see what she was doing, but the light she exuded blinded them as if she was a sun hanging only a few dozen feet over them. Suddenly, the light snapped backed, retracting back within her as quickly as it had spread. When they were able to open their eyes, all the other teams that had been spread about the globe did the same.

            "Whoa…" Shadowcat said as she looked up to see Storm, Beast, Magma, Sunspot and Cannonball all huddled around a frozen Warbird, still bracing for impact. Avalanche was still rubbing her back incase she had to throw up again, a little bit slower to realize the slight change in setting.

            "Where are we?" Psylocke said, sitting on Archangel's legs as she looked up to the burning trees of the Chinese landscape replaced with a barren, Egyptian desert. Iceman just blankly pointed up to the Phoenix hanging in the air above them.

            "So… we're in Egypt? At the Sphinx?" Toad asked, befuddled.

            "Welcome, mate." Pyro nodded, just as surprised to see everyone else.

            "The Sphinx?!" Gambit asked as he finally let go of his head to see Rogue. In losing his concentration, Wolverine trembled as he felt something course through is bones. He unsheathed his claws to see them glowing pink. He quickly realized the source, but not sure of why.

            "Hey, listen gumbo, you gotta uncharge the metal in my body." Wolverine tried to say as calmly as possible so as not let on his petrifying fear. 

            "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Gambit said as he went back to his concentration, slowly restoring the kinetic energy of Wolverine's skeleton back to normal.

            "Jean!" Cyclops shouted at the Phoenix, so relived to see her again. He realized instantly though, that it wasn't the Jean he hoped it was.

            "Do not cry for me, my love." She answered. The sound of her voice caused everyone to stop what they doing and look up at her. "I have caused you to feel so much pain. Through this, I learn the sting of regret. Dear boy, do not fear. I hear you. She hears you." The way she spoke to him filled Cyclops with a sense of inner peace, and he worried no more. 

            Gambit, still curled up on the ground clutching his head, was suddenly enveloped by the by warm, firey wings of the Phoenix as she spoke to him in his heart. "_You will suffer for **your** love no longer. The destruction hurts you._" Gambit finally looked up at her in the sky. She seemed to hardly acknowledge his existence from her perch, but it felt as though she stood directly in front of him. "_I will protect you._" She comforted him. He finally felt he could relax his mind as the Phoenix took over for him. He stood up and stared at Rogue.

            "Can you… can you tell her somethin' for me?" Gambit cautiously asked the Phoenix.

            "She already knows what you have to say. Soon, she will _need to hear it, but not now." The Phoenix answered back as she turned back to Rogue. She calmly placed a hand on Rogue's rigid shoulder. The Phoenix closed her eyes and sighed. As she reopened them, not only was Rogue once again reanimated, but so were Angel and Carol. The evil green glow was gone as they all slowly regained some sort of consciousness._

            "Carol!" The Beast shouted with excitement.

            "Ungh… who?" She moaned as she rubbed her head and sat up

            "You don't--"

            "Hank, take her on the plane." The professor interrupted his disappointed statement. Beast nodded sheepishly as he helped Storm carry Carol on the helijet. 

            "Warren!!" Psylocke bursted with exhilaration as she kissed him.

            "Betsy--" He responded humbly with a smile. 

            "Alright, c'mon." Sunspot said as he had to pull Psylocke off of Angel and Iceman helped him on the jet, his feathers tinged red with is own blood, still dripping from his wounds.

            Gambit just stood under Rogue and watched, waiting for her to come back to him.

            "Where am Ah?" Rogue asked as she opened her eyes for what felt like the first time in ages. Gambit heaved a sigh of relief as he heard her soft southern accent for the first time in so long. 

            "You are going home… with people who love you." The Phoenix replied peacefully. Rogue was too deep in a fog to realize what was going on before her. 

            "Love me?..." She mumbled as she drifted off into a deep sleep. "Gambit…" She grumbled before she was gone. She began to tip backward as she remained in the sky. When she was completely horizontal, she began to drift back to the ground.

            "Rogue!! Rogue!!" Gambit tried to call out to her. 

            "Shh…" The Phoenix quieted him. "She is at peace now." He continued to look up at the Phoenix, waiting for an explanation. When he didn't get one, he looked to Wolverine at his side. 

            "Gimme your coat, kid." Wolverine said. Gambit just stared at him as if he was crazy. "Gumbo, gimme your coat!" He looked up to see Rogue falling closer to the ground. Wolverine held out his arms beneath her, and Gambit laid his coat over them to prevent any skin-to-skin contact. Rogue gently fell into Wolverine's arms and Gambit gently stroked her hair as they walked her onto the plane.

            "Wanda?!" Pyro shouted as he crossed paths Magneto. She was lifeless and bleeding as he carried her onto the helijet. "You did this to her, didn't you?!" Pyro screamed at Magneto. "You pushed her too hard!!" Magneto just impatiently rolled his eyes at the ferocious, firey ball that was Pyro. "Your little helmet won't protect you from this!" He yelled as he fired up his working flame thrower.

            "No." Magneto finally responded to Pyro's accusations. "I wanted her to stop. _She pushed herself too far when she was injured. I would never hurt my child." He then gave his hand a jerk, and Pyro's metal fuel pack pulled him to the ground, out of Magneto's way._

            "He's right." Quicksilver said as Pyro got back up to chase after Magneto. "She got hurt but she refused to sit out." Pyro just waited for a further explanation while the Beast wrapped up Quicksilver's shoulders. They had long since stopped bleeding after Riptide's assault, but they still needed to be covered. "Don't worry. If he hurt her, I would've killed him myself."

            "Jean!" The professor called out to the Phoenix. "Jean, we are here for you." 

            "I scare you." The Phoenix responded, throwing the professor back. "My mentor, you have always derived security from the fact that you could probe the minds of your peers. And while you never have, without prior knowledge, you use your abilities to comfort you. You fear me because you cannot know what I have planned." The professor and Cyclops just looked at each other, dumbfounded by her insight.

            "I know what you have planned." Psylocke blurted out, no longer able to keep her fears and visions to herself, as she jumped into the biggest matter at hand. "We won't le you do it. You'll serve your purpose and then you'll get out of here. You'll defeat Apocalypse then go away. You can't consume us the way you have those other solar systems. It's my mistake, I know that. But we will all defeat you. We're the X-Men; we'll do whatever it takes." Everyone just looked at her, surprised by the accusation. The Phoenix merely chuckled at her passion in what she believed.

            "Your re-awakening precognition… it was not." The Phoenix explained. "That power died with Kwannon. All that has followed has merely been a coincidence. A residue of the gift left within you."

            "So… Apocalypse has been feeding me those images? The horrible, bloody future I saw was simply to scare me?" The Phoenix nodded calmly.

            "But you saw through it. You saw my reason for inhabiting this body on this planet in this universe. I have traveled the farthest reaches of this universe, feasting on the stars of galaxies. I reveled in the pain and destruction of billions upon billions of lives. I had lost my purpose in my crusade, only to submerge myself in my own power. But you saw truth in a sea of lies. For that, the world thanks you." Psylocke was still trying to absorb the meaning of the Phoenix's powerful words.

            "So you are here to help us?" Xavier asked.

            "I am here to perform my duties."

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First of all, sorry with the cop-out on the whole Berzerker deal… I thank you for your compliments on my fight scenes, and I feel I sorta let you down. I just couldn't think of any other way to get rid of him!! Just had to address that, but that's all!!       

**Rouge151 – Well, there's Rogue for ya, a little bit o' Romy, hope it works for you. I'm glad you got the whole thing with Carol… I wasn't sure anyone would! And I'm glad you liked the Betsy/Warren. Thanks for reviewing!! And Happy New Year!!**

**Aro – yay!! No neglect!! I don't have to call MFFNA (My FanFic Neglect Agency) on you!! I'm glad you like the Betsy/Warren, and I got some Romy in there for you!! Hope it tides you over for a little while. No Romy in the next chapter, then there will be that explosion I was talking about earlier. Stay tuned!! Happy New Year!!**

**RougeFan – Yay!! I'm glad you like my horsemen choices. I've been planning this for Carol for along time. Hope you like this dose of Rogue!! And the suspense will all be over soon. Just stick around!! Happy New Year!!**

**Sphinx29 – Yay!! You like my humor!! I'm not very good at being funny on cue, but I can get a little bit in there every once in a while… but is definitely a drama fic! Happy New Year!!**

**Ishandahalf – I'm so glad you enjoyed the Betsy/Warren. Hope you enjoyed this Romy and Jonda! No Romy in the next chapter, but after that will be the Romy explosion I PROMISE!! And your question about the statue-ness was answered. Okay, okay, I'm sorry about the whole science thing. I'm just a curious bugger. Okay, so it's magic. That works for me!! My Wizard says you better keep those reviews a comin' supafast!! And Happy New Year!!**

**Pyrosgal – w00t!! A new reviewer!! I'm glad you like my Pyro. Yeah… there really isn't a lot of John around these parts, now is there? Thanks for reading and reviewing, keep it up!! And Happy New Year!!**

**Epona – Woohoo!!! Another new reviewer!! Short and sweet, I love ya, babe!! Keep those reviews a comin' and I'll keep a postin'! Happy new Year!!**

**Leann – This is the best Christmas ever!! New Reviewers for walmartshoplifter!! Yay!! I'm glad you love my story! Keep your review a comin', and I'll keep a postin'!! Happy New Year to you as well!!**

**Ellavira – yet another new reviewer!! I'm so glad you like my fic!! It makes me so happy!! Here's another post, and review soon!! Happy New Year!! (I just don't get tired of saying that!)**

**Lady Farevay – Okay, two months and no reviews?!?! Better late than never I guess ;-P Don't let it happen again! I'm glad you like my fic so much! I'm so glad you like the Romy, hope this chapter makes you happy. It's like a shot of Romy tequila on an empty stomach, baby!! So, it wasn't exactly a Rogue/Jean/Phoenix showdown, but sort of. Hope I didn't shatter your dreams!! Okay, don't go two months without reviewing again!! (Although there isn't that much left…)  HaPpY nEw YeAr!!**

**Gothic Cajun – I was wondering what happened to you!! I'm so glad you're back, and making up for lost time!! That's why you always have to challenge the man!! I'm glad you're still interested enough to keep reading after so long!! Yay!! I love you!! Hope this Romy was good enough for ya!! Keep reviewing and Happy New Year!!**


	34. Chapter 34

Alright, here's the deal: I promised big Rogue in the next chapter, **but** it's getting too long, so I had to split it into its own chapter. So, no Rogue, or Romy in the next chapter, but it's all Rogue/Romy in the next one after that, which I'll post really quickly after the next chapter. Now, about the posting, I have finals this week, so I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to get done, or typed up. I promise I will have next chapter posted by the end of next weekend though, so don't get disparaged. After this chapter, there's only three left, and then it's over (tear). So you better get all your reviews in!! I love each and everyone of you, and your reviews mean so much to me!! Thanks so much and keep reading and reviewing!! 

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            "What are your duties?" Xavier yelled at the Phoenix as she turned toward the Sphinx, still hovering in the sky.

            "_You must go." She answered him telepathically. "_There is nothing you can do now, you must protect yourselves._"_

            "We will not leave you, Jean." He responded aloud. 

            "_Then I cannot help you." She replied, leaving him behind. She pressed her elbows into her hips once again as she flexed her muscles. The monument before her began to tremble as it felt the same pressure Jean's body did. Cracks began to snake up the Sphinx, into its crevices and through its structure. As pieces began to break off and fall to the ground, The Beast's eyes grew wide with horror. _

            "You're destroying thousands of years of history!" Beast gasped with disbelief. 

            "_You are a slave to your intellect, Dr. Henry McCoy." The Phoenix spoke into his mind. He could feel the warmth of her smile, though her body showed nothing as she continued to level the Sphinx. "_Do not worry about the kingdoms of old. The past is behind you, and you have already begun to rewrite history._" Her words left him speechless as the multiple-millennia old monument crumbled to reveal a metal frame work and machinery that still has thousands of years to be developed. The X-Men were astonished to see it, but the Phoenix remained unphased. A marvel of Egyptian architecture and artwork was gone, reduced to little more than dust and pebbles. They all waited to see what would happen next when something rose out of the ground. As Apocalypse burst forth from the ground on a metal platform, The Phoenix smiled, fire rising in his eyes; distinct from the flamed rapture that protected her and gave her her power. _

            He stood tall on the sturdy platform under him. He wore metal body armor that covered him from his neck down. The bluish grey tint that composed it was a mixture of the muted grey of his own skin and the blue color of his lips that spread across his jaw line. The nemes headdress he wore when he was risen, a symbol of his Egyptian royalty, was replaced with his own mere presence. When the platform reached the desert sands, it stopped, but Apocalypse continued to rise, using his own power to lift him up to the same level of The Phoenix.

            "_Why have you dared to call upon me, __Phoenix__?" Apocalypse's dark, deep, raspy tone came to her telepathically, but she used her powers to make it audible for everyone present._

            "You have dared to change the course of nature." She answered.

            "I have done no such thing. I only act as a catalyst for evolution. I am setting mankind on nature's path." He replied.

            "You call yourself a catalyst, but instead you mean only to bring war and fear. You dare to assume that one can rule this planet, and that it can be you. It is my duty to protect this place, and its purpose in my universe." She continued.

            "You mean to challenge _me_?" Apocalypse asked condescendingly. 

            "I mean to end this… on your own terms: Survival of the fittest." She answered, throwing everyone aback.

            "I have seen your coming many years in the future, and many years in the past. I know your weaknesses." He said back.

            "Then you know I have none." Her calm ethereal voice that had clashed against Apocalypse's threatening, evil voice turned harsh and stern. The thin flames about her slowly faded into one another, like idle fingers itching for a fight.

            "I know you are a slave to your inherited human emotions. You _crave for destruction. Join me, Phoenix. Together, you and I will rule not only this planet, but the universe. You and I will rule time and space. With me, you will hunger no more." Apocalypse enticed and tempted her. There was dead silence as everyone waited to hear her answer. _

            "You instill terror in the hearts of men, En Sabah Nur, but I know no such fear. I am the life force of the universe. You seek to ravage all that is good and sacred. I am the child of laughter and light, and you must be destroyed." With that, the Phoenix threw up her arms, and the bird shaped rapture that kept her grew in size to prey on Apocalypse.  He merely scoffed at her stunning display and grew within his armor to meet its size. He threw out his arm, forming into some kind of gun. He used his will to fire strange organic missiles at Jean. The Phoenix wrapped its wings around her to protect her, but when they hit her body she soared back in the air several feet, but remained unharmed. She grew angry, her eyeballs replaced with a white and orange glow. The Phoenix shrieked, embodying her fury. She threw her hands back at him, releasing a firey orb that charged for Apocalypse. He surrounded himself with a telekinetic shield to deflect it. The Phoenix laid flat on her stomach, in the air, and began to fly forward, quickly gaining the momentum of a bullet. She grew so fast that all that could be seen of her was a lightning streak of fire across the sky. Apocalypse phased himself, allowing her to pass right through him. As she regained her bearings, the Phoenix screamed again. She stood up again in the sky and calmly cocked her head to the side. In the blink of an eye, Apocalypse's body armor had converted to solid gold. He came crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom. He quickly recovered, using his own technology to convert it back. Instead of rising back up in the sky, he remained on the ground and grew taller to compensate for her height over his. He was now nearly 30 feet tall and pissed off. His eyes glowed red and an optic blast shot toward her. The Phoenix put her hand out, and before the beam could reach her, it slowed to a halt. Apocalypse used her slight distraction to hit her with a psychic grenade that once again sent her back in the air, clutching her head. It took her a moment to compensate, but she did, sending a grenade right back at him. He managed to get off a few more missiles from his arm before he was hit, and they were both sent reeling at the same time. 

            The X-Men below, all of them, regardless of allegiance of beliefs, watched the two battle in stunned silence. The amount of power and emotion being thrown back and forth held them locked to their posts as firey explosions lit up the Egyptian night sky. There was nothing any of them could do as they all wanted it just simply go away. Everyone wanted to go return back to the time before any of this; the Phoenix, Apocalypse, the fate of the world, ever happened. They each wished they could go back, before it became their duty to protect the future, whatever future it was. They wanted to go back before they had stepped down the rabbit hole that led them to where they were today, at this moment, watching the fate of the very planet being decided before them, and powerless to do anything about it. They wanted to go back before they were mutants, when their biggest fears were what their parents would do if they were caught out past curfew. They all prayed the Phoenix would win, then leave them alone.

            The Phoenix recovered from her arsenal assault fastest, and threw her hands at Apocalypse, sending an endless wave of fire at him that grew out the rapture. Even though the fire was hotter than the surface of the sun, Apocalypse didn't react, merely scoffing as he used his hands to spread the fire before it reached him, sending it around him. When the Phoenix realized her attempt was futile, she stopped and prepared to try another method. Apocalypse held out his hand and made it into a fist. Jean's body responded in kind by forcefully curling up into a ball. She strained and fought against the restriction as Apocalypse used her own telekinesis against her, and brought her small body closer to his monstrous form. She couldn't find the strength to free herself of his grasp as he was forcing her body to cave in on itself. When she was at an arms length for Apocalypse, he splayed his fingers, opening her up. Her arms and legs stretched so far out into the air, it felt as though they were going to rip at the joints. Apocalypse raised his giant hand, and closed it over her face, extinguishing the flames that carried with them the life force of the universe. Her body instantly went limp. Either Apocalypse had suffocated her, or crushed her skull. The bottom immediately dropped out of Cyclops' stomach.

            "No! Let her go!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!" He shouted, afraid he'd hurt her. "Please! Please! I'll do whatever you want! We all will… Please, just let her go!" Everyone looked at Cyclops as if was crazy, having just signed away their lives, then they all looked up to Apocalypse, waiting for a response.

            "As I always knew, you are all reckless, emotional warts on my heel. Your weakness is merely a burden on my presence. There is nothing you can do. With the Phoenix gone, I will destroy you, and the universe will be mine." There was a moment of eerie silence as the world was decided, and that was it. There _was nothing they could do. The calm was cut short by a sizzling sound coming from Apocalypse's hand as he held Jean over the team below. His hand was bubbling and smoking as it fizzled like someone had poured acid over it. As his hand melted away, the firey bird returned, growing brighter and more ferocious than before. Apocalypse was stunned as his whole hand was nothing more than a burning stump._

            "You may kill this body, Nur, but you will only release _me." The Phoenix said, letting out another painful screech of anger. "I am reborn of the ashes of defeat. Every time you hurt me, you only make me stronger. I am the Phoenix, Nur, I am HOPE!" with that, the Phoenix put her arms over her chest, forming an X, then threw them down at her sides, using Jean's telekinesis, mixed and intensified with her own powers, and ripped a hole in the sky. It was as if someone had punched a knife through the darkness of night to open up a portal to some unknown place. "For one who claims to control such technology called 'The Eye of Ages', one who claims to posses the knowledge of many generations, you seem to know very little." She pulled her arms back behind her and brought them in front of her to clap them together, sending out a bright orange beam of light, flying through the air. The force of the light shoved Apocalypse back through the hole in the sky. He screamed as he flew toward a dark, unknown destination, not of any time or space continuum of this universe. Once he was safely gone, the Phoenix pulled her arms back up over her chest, sealing up the hole behind him. The Phoenix watched the sky, making sure there were no complications. The team on the ground stared at her with open jaws, but there was nothing but calm quiet._

            "Is he gone?" Wolverine asked cautiously, breaking the awkward, peaceful silence. 

            "Just as I am the embodiment of all that is good, he is the embodiment of all that is evil." The Phoenix once again moved in slow motion as she made her response. She turned from staring at where the hole had once been and looked at the X-Men below her. "Evil will always exists, for without it, there can be no good. To destroy him would merely give rise to another form. I have moved him to a place it will take him a very long time to find his way out of. I have tipped the balance in our favor."

            "But he _will _find his way out?" Mystique interjected, hoping for a straight answer instead of philosophies.

            "The only doubt that remains is when." The Phoenix replied, gently nodding her head. "You all have many questions, and I will do my best to answer, but I must now finish what I have started." She said as she turned toward the metal frame that was all that remained of the Sphinx. She once again flexed every muscle in her body, forcing the X-Men to take a step back, afraid of what she might do next. What was left of the Sphinx, and the pyramid in the distance, began to rumble. The stones of the pyramid began cracking to bits like the Sphinx had before it. The metal technology rose out of the ground. Slowly after, a metal frame was revealed as it was pulled out of the pyramid as well. The Phoenix raised her hands in the air, bringing the metal structures up with them. When she had them where she wanted them, she clasped her hands together over her head. The two metal frames came crashing quickly together. Two more metal frames came soaring through the sky, one from the Western horizon that came from the pyramid in Mexico, and the other from the East; China. As they all four clashed in the air, they became nothing more than a mess of twisted metal and strange computer chips. Then she threw the heap to the ground. "Dr. Henry McCoy, see what you can learn from this… so that it never happens again." The Beast just stared at the technology in complete amazement as he blankly nodded his head, not sure what to do with it.

            "Are you leaving now?" Cyclops called out to the Phoenix, the professor sitting at his side. She merely turned and smiled at them both. 

            "My love, you wonder if she will come back to you, or is she is gone forever." Cyclops blushed, embarrassed that he was so easy to read, but nodded anyway. "Jean Grey and I are one within this body. I said before that she no longer existed only to hurt you. In fact, she can not exist without me. But at the same time, I can not exist without her. The Dark Phoenix was briefly unleashed from Jean's own hidden desires and darkest feelings. By the same token, her sense of love and morality brought me back to where I was meant to be. Jean Grey is with you forever, as she is with me." There was a pause as Cyclops was dissatisfied with the answer, but had no choice other than to accept it. "And, you, my mentor, you wonder, 'why her'?" The professor was surprised by the fact she could read his mind, something no one had ever been able to do, and nodded in a trance. "On my travels through out the many galaxies I am destined to protect and serve, I heard a call, pure and selfless. She cried not save herself, but the one she loved. She struggled on the brink of death, prepared to sacrifice her life for you, dear boy." She said, turning back to Cyclops. He lit up, knowing finally, how much Jean cared for him, and only wished he could return the favor. "And to the soul with red eyes, an innocent heart, and a heavy conscience, I leave you on your own now." She said to Gambit. "Your burden and your gift all at once is something you must learn to control all by yourself. Cutting corners has proved to do nothing but make you dependant on others. I will tell you, that focus comes easier when you learn to forgive yourself." Gambit nodded as he hung his head between his shoulders. With that, a warm sensation washed over him as he felt her presence depart from within him. He quickly began to concentrate on keeping his thoughts to himself so as not to hurt anyone, but all he could think about was Rogue.

            The Phoenix turned upward, preparing to leave this world when she was stopped.

            "Hey, just a sec there uh… Phoenix." She turned back to see Pyro standing beneath her. "I got a question." She simply shut her eyes and curled her lips up, grinning, signaling him to go on. "You've talked a lot about… I mean, you said before that… Uggghhh!!" He grew frustrated with himself as he couldn't find the words to elegantly ask his question.

            "Tongue tied, Aussie?" Toad taunted him, hopping up beside him. Pyro just growled at Toad, the Phoenix patiently waiting in the air.

            "Are we alone in the universe? Are there… y'know… aliens?" He finally asked.

            "Lookin' for your mother ship?" Toad chuckled. Pyro got angry at him and shoved him aside, causing him to let out a girlish scream.

            "To your companions, _you_ are the aliens." The Phoenix replied cryptically.

            "But there are _others_?!" Pyro shouted. 

            "It is my job to preserve the sanctity of peace in this universe. I have been to this planet only a few times since its birth, but I have hardly ever had a moment's rest." She answered evasively.

            "Bonzer!! There _are_ aliens!!" Pyro shouted to the others as he jumped up and down. The Phoenix smiled at him as she prepared once more to go.

            "I don't know if you're the right pers-uhhh… _thing to be asking this…" Avalanche interrupted her. She turned back to let him finish. "Uh… what's the meaning of life?" The simplicity of his curiosity and complexity of his question made her smile again._

            "There is so much to life that your frail human mind could never understand." She started, "But to put it in terms that are within your grasp… your purpose for being here, is to evolve into whatever comes next." Avalanche just watched her as she turned up to the sky again. He wasn't sure exactly what to make of her response, but it left him satisfied.

            As the Phoenix pulled upward toward the sky, she flexed every muscle in her body. Cyclops looked at the ground, unable to see Jean leave him again. The Phoenix let out an excruciating screech as everyone knew it was preparing for interstellar travel, but as the firey rapture tried to move up, Jean's body remained stationary. The shriek of the bird became Jean shouting in pain as the fire ripped itself from her. The bird quickly disappeared in a bright flash of light in the sky before Jean began to fall back to the ground. Cyclops was surprised to see she wasn't gone too. It took him a second before he rushed to catch her. As she fell into his arms, he was knocked down on the ground, but she was unhurt… physically.

            "Jean?" He asked her as she lay limp in his arms. "Jean?!"

            "Scott?" She finally muttered with her own voice. Her eyes were closed as she could barely keep herself conscious. "Scott… can you hear me?"

            "I can hear you Jean, I'm here." He said, his heart jumping in his chest.

            "Scott? Scott? I'm so tired of fighting." She whimpered.

            "It's okay, Jean, you don't have to fight anymore. It's over, she's gone." He tried to reassure her, everyone else watching fearfully. 

            "I'm so tired, Scott… Can you hear me? I'm so tired…" she continued before she finally passed out in his lap.

            "Jean?! Jean!?!" He shouted, afraid he'd lost her.

            "Scott, it's alright." The professor interrupted. "She's asleep." Cyclops looked up at him and heaved a sigh of relief before looking back to Jean.

            "Jean, it's okay. We're going home."

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**Roguewanderer – Thank you!! I'll do my best to keep up the good work, and I hope this suffices!!**

**Rogue151 – Don't get me started on the comics! Lilandra was meant to be empress of the Shi'ar Empire but her evil brother D'ken usurped her power and went mad. He tried to use the M'kraan crystal to take power of the entire universe, and Lilandra contacted Xavier to ask for his help, then the Phoenix showed up to protect the crystal. That's just the short story, you can check it all out at uncannyxmen.net. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one too. I also hope you like the next one, despite the lack of Rogue, but she will have her very own chapter. All Rogue, all the time. I promise!!**

**Gothic Cajun – Yay!! I'm glad you liked the Romyness of the last chapter, and the Phoenix. Yes, yes explosions to come. You'll what happens to Carol within the next two chapters. And… uh…  I don't know anything about Pokemon…**

**Aimtbj - I'm glad you liked the chapter, hope this one is just as great!!**

**Aro – you like me, you really like me!! Awww, you logged in just for me!! That is much obliged! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and just because of it, I won't call the MFFNA on you. I can't guarantee for the next week though… oh, and by the way, I am a kind _queen person, not king, thank you very much!! (But telepathy doesn't exist yet :*( so I wouldn't expect you to know!)_**

**N'Awlins Demon Lover – Normal?? Hmmm… I don't know if Rogue is back to normal per se… stick around!! Much Rogue to come!**

**Ishandahalf – I'm sorry if the Phoenix is too confusing… I don't think I really made that any easier in this chapter… sorry. And so so so soooo sorry about making you wait a whole extra chapter for Rogue, but I promise you won't be disappointed by any lack of explosion. The next chapter will definitely be out quicker than a bunny on crack, provided studying for finals isn't too big a deal (I'm a senior with four exams and a project… how sad is that? Most people in my grade have no more than two!!) So, keep those reviews a comin' supafast!**

**Ellavira – "Curious"?… I'll take that!! Thanks so much and keep reviewing!!**

**TMR – Wow, you got an account just to review to my story?!? (;-P) Aww how sweet! Let me know when you start writing, I'll definitely be there to review! I'm sorry I have to push back the Romy, but you won't be disappointed. **

**Lady Farevay – Oooh.. A dare! I can't pass that up!! Okay, here goes: First of all, you were rambling quite a bit, so I'm not sure I understood everything you said, but I'll try my best. Second: Saying it was perfect seriously nearly brought a tear to my eye! I know it wasn't really perfect, but the thought that somebody thought so made me so happy, I don't think I've ever felt so loved! Okay, the philosophy… hell if I know where it cam from. I talk to myself a lot and practice things a lot, so I just kept rewriting it until is sounded good to me. I think it all made sense. Next, I'm sorry if I made you feel you had to apologize… but I really didn't mean to do that, I kid, y'know? And I kid because I love ;-P just don't let it happen again!! I'm glad that my fic inspired you to review and talk, even if it was endlessly. I'm honored anyone takes the time to write a review, especially when they don't normally review! Wow, you're gonna put me in your bio?? Make me feel humbled why donchya?!?! I honestly don't mind the sarcasm, anyone who takes anything at face value without a sense of humor is definitely missing the point of life. Oh, never fear, I'd never turn down a review just because it was too long. The longer the better I say, bring it on!! Anybody who would, is definitely not worth the time and thought you put into your review!! And I love that word "ficing"… it's right up there with masticating… even if ficing isn't a real word! Thanks so much for your wonderful comments and I hope I continue to please you enough to write more reviews!! And Last but not least… how's that for a response, huh?? Don't ever dare me a responding competition, cuz I will so kick butt. Thank you so much!!!**


	35. Chapter 35

Alrighty… when I said I had to push the Rogue/Romy back, I lied, here it is in all it's glory!! Well, actually, organization wise, it just worked out better to have this chapter first. So all you other Romy shippers out there can stop bugging me!! (and it's a lot too, I think it's my longest chapter… or second longest) Alright, only two chapters left, I think. How sad. I've been putting off writing the last chapter. Anyway, thank you all SO much for the reviews, they make me so happy!! Keep 'em comin'!!!

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            "Shhh!" Rogue heard Kitty say over several muffled giggles as she and Remy led her outside.

            "What're y'all up to?" Rogue asked playfully. She was blinded by Remy's hands over her eyes.

            "You'll see, Roguey." Remy answered coyly. While she didn't like not knowing what was going on, she reveled in the warm weather as the sun beat down on her bare skin. She wiggled her liberated toes in the grass of the mansion's front lawn beneath her.

            "Ah told ya not to call me that, swamp rat." Rogue answered back.

            "Okay! Okay! We're ready!" Kitty suddenly called out.

            "Surprise." Remy whispered in Rogue's ear before he took his hands off her eyes.

            She was immediately berated with a chorus line of "SURPRISE!!" Her senses were overwhelmed, leaving nothing for her to do but smile as Kurt, Scott, Jean, Kitty, Remy, Wanda, Pyro, Lance, Toad, Pietro, the Professor, Peter, Storm and Logan all welcomed her. 

            "What is this?!" Rogue gleamed as she saw a 'Welcome Back!' banner hung between two trees over a table filled with her favorite foods, including a big, brown, chocolate cake. 

            "Well, after everything that's happened, we realized how important you really are to us." Kitty explained.

            "Oh mah god! Ah mean… thank you, but… oh mah god! Ah never…" Rogue stuttered, so surprised by the actions of her friends to spit out a complete sentence.

            "Like, don't mention it." Kitty said, obviously proud of being able to leave Rogue speechless. 

            "Thank you." Rogue finally managed to say.

            "Would you like a piece of cake, mein frauline?" Kurt jumped in as hanged from a tree branch over her head.  Rogue smiled at him and nodded.

            "I made it myself!" Kitty interjected as she poured cups of punch for everyone.

            "Uh… on second thought… perhaps some pizza?" Kurt added.

            "Hey! It's good! I swear!" Kitty shouted at him, offended. Rogue nodded at Kurt and he dashed off on all fours to serve her.

            "Can I get ya some punch, ma chérie?" Remy asked in a very sultry voice.

            "That would be great." She replied in just the same way, watching him follow after Kurt.

            "Great t'have ya back, sheila." Pyro surprised her by smacking her on the back from behind.

            "Yeah, we really missed you around here." Scott added.

            "Thanks, guys." Rogue grinned humbly at them, until she caught a glimpse of the Professor and Magneto behind a tree, talking to someone who was sitting on the ground. Rogue thought the woman looked vaguely familiar, and didn't notice as everyone who had come to welcome her back had walked off to join their own circles. The woman looked sullen in the shadows and she felt as if she was turning a key in her head that has long been hidden from her.

            "No trespassing." Rogue snapped around at hearing Mystique's callous voice, forgetting her thoughts.

            "Wow, security's real tight for this bash, isn't it?" Rogue lit up at the familiar British accent.

            "Let her go." Rogue ordered Mystique who was holding Betsy back.

            "See? I'm on the _V-I-P _list." Betsy mocked her to her face. Mystique grumbled as she stood aside for Rogue. "Why don't you morph into something a bit… quieter?" Betsy said as she held up her palm and pulled her finger together. Mystique responded to Betsy's actions by uncontrollably shape shifting into a hummingbird. Betsy shooed her off as she flew away, leaving Betsy and Rogue alone.

            "Betsy, what're you doin' here? Ah never absorbed you." Rogue grew concerned. "Did Ah?"

            "So you know this isn't real?" Betsy smiled, confirming Rogue's assumption.

            "It's real enough." Rogue mumbled, feeling slightly ashamed.

            "So you're just going to settle?" Betsy said, surprised at Rogue's acquiescence.

            "You don't understand." Rogue tried to defend herself. "My powers don't work here--"

            "Well of course they don't. You can't absorb somebody when they're already here. Your powers would probably work on me, though." Betsy explained as she took in the scenery.

            "No, that's not it--"

            "I mean, I wouldn't want to leave if they were having a party for me, either." Betsy interrupted her again.

            "Rougey, I got yo' punch." Remy said as he joined them. "Hey, Betts." Betsy just scoffed at him, leaving him a bit disconcerted.

            "Cajun, Ah told you not to call me that!" Rogue yelled at him as she snatched the cup out of his hand.

            "Well he's not going to learn." Betsy informed Rogue as if she already should have known.

            "Jus' talk about me like I ain't even here." Remy mumbled bitterly.

            "Well you're not!" Betsy said bluntly. "Rogue, he's going to stay exactly the same as he was the exact moment you last brought him here. It's going to get old quite fast." Rogue snarled at Betsy, then grabbed Remy. She planted her lips on him and threw them both into a passionate kiss to show Betsy what she had been trying to tell her. Betsy just sighed impatiently and rolled her eyes as she waited for them to finish.

            "Don' worry none, chère, I'm on cloud nine." He responded simply when Rogue finally let him go. Betsy gave Rogue an 'I told you so' grin, as his response was rather subdued for the intensity of their embrace. Rogue forced out a smile to keep up appearances, but Betsy obviously wasn't fooled. 

            "Can you leave us alone f'r a little while?" Rogue asked Remy disappointedly. Remy nodded pleasantly, not acknowledging her feelings, and walked away.

            "He says that every time, doesn't he?" Betsy asked, seeing right through Rogue's façade. Rogue looked back down into her cup, silently confirming Betsy's suspicions. "That's going to get annoying pretty soon… if it hasn't already."

            "That's not important." Rogue spat defensively, trying to convince herself as much as Betsy. "What's important is how it makes me feel. Ah can do that any time Ah want. Ah can feel his lips on mine, Ah can taste his tongue…"

            "Cheap cigarette breath for the rest of your life… how romantic…"

            "It's safe here." Rogue brushed off her comment with a glare. "Ah can't hurt anyone here. Ah can feel truly close to him."

            "Isn't the point of that to _share_ it with him?" Betsy proposed. "I mean, he's been sitting by your bedside ever since… well, a day or two after we got back from Egypt and all he's been thinkin' about is just seeing your eyes again." Rogue sunk her head between her shoulders, feeling selfish. "I know he'd do anything in his power to make you feel like that."

            "Ah can't go back." Rogue whimpered.

            "And I can't make you. But soon, everything is going to be the same, day in and day out, over and over and over again. Nothing will change. I know this place is warm and safe, Rogue, but the point of living is taking risks. To learn, to grow, to change, to _evolve_…" Rogue finally looked up at her, coming to terms with Betsy's truth. "You have a gift, Rogue. Whenever you – 'you' being everyone in general – you take a little piece of them with you and incorporate it into who you are, and then you go on to share it. But _you_ take so much more than that. You can empathize with people in a way that no empath could ever hope to. You can see the world from _all_ points of view at once. You can help people in ways that no one else can, in the ways that count the most. It's your duty as a _human being_ to come back and share with us as much as we share with you." Betsy's profound words touched Rogue in ways that no one ever had. She was nearly convinced when she looked back behind the tree to se the woman, sitting on the ground. She felt empty and guilty. It served only as a reminder of what would happen if she went back. "You know who that is, don't you?" Betsy sensed her concern.

            "Not really." Rogue shook her head meekly. "But she hurts."

            "Uh-huh." Betsy answered. "That's Miss Marvel." Rogue looked up to Betsy again with wide eyes.

            "That's who she is…" Rogue muttered, the key finally opening the lock. For the first time in a very long time, she was fully remembering the events that happened back at the beginning of the summer.

            "Yup. And I bet _she_ hasn't forgiven you, has she?" Betsy said as she pointed. "She still threatens to take over… deep down. You can only hear it when you listen really closely, when life is hard and you want to give up." Rogue nodded blankly as she couldn't take her eyes off Carol. "Out there she's already begun to come to terms with what really happened. She's actually begun to forgive you… in her own way." Betsy trailed off. 

            "Don't leave me here, Betts." Rogue whimpered on the brink of tears. "Ah wanna come home. Ah wanna see him." Betsy smiled as she hugged Rogue and let her cry on her shoulder. 

            "You know, everybody's been bugging me to get out back so you can make your dressing for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Do you make good salad dressing or something?" Betsy's comment caused Rogue to smile, forgetting her troubles.

            "No, it's _dray-sin'_… y'know, turkey stuffing?" Betsy just looked at her blankly. "It's a southern thing." Rogue brushed her off, then stopped dead in her tracks. "Thanksgiving's tomorrow?" She developed a look of utter terror on her face, slightly frightening Betsy. 

            "Well, yes… you've been unconscious about a week." Betsy explained.

            "No. Last thing Ah remember was sittin' on th'roof tellin' Remy Ah couldn't believe Thanksgiving was only three weeks…" She trailed off, confusing Betsy. "Ah lost three weeks of my life."

            "Well we better not waste anymore--" Betsy said, putting her hand to her forehead to concentrate.

            "Wait." Rogue stopped her. Betsy patiently looked up at her, waiting for her question. "When they realized how important Ah was--"

            "It's because they always knew." Betsy answered before she finished asking. Rogue beamed with humble pride.

*          *          *

            Rogue blinked her eyes open to see Betsy sitting beside her bed in a chair. Her dark purple hair was tied up in back with a clip. Her narrow Asian eyes looked tired, but relieved, her lips in a calm, loose smile. The next thing Rogue noticed after catching her first image of Betsy, was that she was holding her bare hand. She looked down, relieved to see the Betsy was protected by a thin pair of latex gloves.

            "I'm sorry to make you nervous… it helps me connect." Betsy explained without Rogue having to say anything. She stood up to throw the gloves away in a trash can in the corner of the room by the door, drawing Rogue's attention to Remy, sleeping in a chair on the other side of the door.

            "How long has he--"

            "Shhh." Betsy stopped her. "He's a light sleeper."

            "Oh, sorry." Rogue whispered back, following Betsy with her eyes as she walked back toward the bed, making sure she could Remy in her peripheral vision. "How long has he been sitting there?"

            "Since the professor let him." Betsy answered. "He had some… stuff… he had to take of once we got back."

            "Stuff? What--"

            "I'll let him explain." Betsy cut her off. "He thought it would be real romantic if he was the first thing you saw you when you awoke, but I think it would be _more romantic if you were the first thing he saw when _he_ woke." Betsy looked back to him over her shoulder and focused on him for a moment. "He dreams about you, you know."_

            "Really?" Rogue blushed.

            "Mm-hmm. He is right now. It's amazing, he doesn't ask for much, just to see your eyes." Rogue looked up at him and watched him while he slept. She'd never seen him so peaceful before. "Do you want me to wake him? I'll make your head explode--"

            "What?!" Rogue shouted.

            "Shh!! I mean in his dream… although…"

            "No, just let him wake up on his own…" Rogue whispered again.

            "Well, I wouldn't have to make your head explode, I could just--"

            "It's okay, Betts. Just let him wake up on his own." She reiterated.

            "Oh… okay then…" Betsy said disappointedly as she gloomily walked toward the door. She stopped in the doorway with Remy beside her in his chair. She glanced over her shoulder at Rogue, who glared at her back to go away. Then she looked back down, and kicked the leg of Remy's chair. "Oh goodness, look what I've done!" Betsy said overly innocently as Remy open his eyes and stretched his arms and legs.

            "Hey, Betts, what was 'at for?" Remy asked groggily as he tried to adjust to the light in the room.

            "For someone who claims to never sleep, you sure do it a lot." Betsy remarked. "Honestly, I don't know what you see in him." She turned halfway around, speaking to Rogue sardonically, but drawing Remy's attention to her for the first time. He stopped dead like a deer caught in headlights when he saw Rogue sitting straight up in bed. Betsy suddenly grew a grin of pride. "Can I stay and watch?" Betsy said with sarcastic pep. "Will you two just stay right where you are while I go get Kitty and some popcorn?" 

            "GET OUT!!" Rogue and Remy yelled at her in unison. She grumbled as she gave Remy a smile of approval, and finally left them alone. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Remy was at Rogue's bedside. She didn't see him get up and walk over, he was just there. An awkward silence overtook them as Remy just stared at her.

            "Mon dieu, you got beautiful eyes." Rogue blushed at his explanation, then looked up at him to give him a better view. "How ya feelin', chère?" He asked as she scooted over on the bed to make room for him to sit.

            "Alright… Ah guess…" she said.

            "D'you wanna… y'know… talk 'bout anythin'? I mean, I been wit' Sinister, I know what he can do…"

            "Well, Ah don' really remember any of that." She cut him off, gracious for his openness, but knowing that it was making him uncomfortable.

            "What do you remember?" He asked innocently. She smiled and looked down at the hand he'd thrown over her legs to support himself.

            "Ah vaguely remember sayin' somthin' about lovin' you." She glanced up to see his reaction, to see him looking at her with his jaw half open. He let his lips curl, smiling briefly, but then sighed with disappointment.

            "You shouldn' say that, Rogue." He muttered.

            "But Ah love you, Remy… Ah didn' think Ah could love anyone, ever, but Ah love _you." She begged him to say it back. She had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach. She was afraid she'd just ruined everything._

            "No, chère, I mean… you shouldn' say that when… when I been lyin' to ya." She was relieved for a moment, knowing that it wasn't because he didn't love her back, but then a lump grew in her throat. After everything they'd been through, he'd still lie to her. She started to get angry as she struggled to keep the tears back.

            "Ah knew Ah shouldna come back. Ah knew it… you were perfect." She mumbled bitterly, barely audible. "So you wouldn' ever change, Ah wouldna minded that, you were perfect."

            "Rogue?" Remy grew concerned as she kept muttering to herself.

            "What is it?" She suddenly barked at him, causing him to jump back. "What is it? Did you marry someone else while Ah was gone?"

            "No." He couldn't help be smile at her accusation, but quickly regained his solemn composure. "It's about the vial."

            "Ah didn't take it!" She shouted defensively. "Ah just looked at it, but Ah didn'--"

            "I know. Can you jus' lemme finish?" He was growing impatient. She leaned back on her pillow, realizing that she was only going to make him angry.

            "Sorry."

            "S'okay." He said, pausing to formulate what he wanted to say into words. "When I told ya 'bout Julien, and how my powers were outta control," He looked up to her and she nodded, listening intently since the subject matter was something very important to her. "truth is… I never… I never got control…" He paused again to let what he just said sink in. "Sinister… he, uh… he saw somethin' in me he wanted, an' he promised me the world t'get it."

            "He cut your head open." Rogue said, finally learning about the memory that had plagued her for so long.

            "Took out a piece 'a my brain." Remy nodded. "It cut down the intensity of my powers. He kept the tissue in the vial. He threatened to kidnap me and put it back in if I didn' do whatever he wanted. All I wanted t'do was stop hurtin' people, but… but all I done since…"

            "That's not true." Rogue tried to comfort him. "Ah mean… yeah, you've hurt me, an' Ah can't speak f'r anybody else, but Remy… Ah never felt so… Ah never… Remy, Ah… it was worth it."

            "No, Rogue. Not for me. I hurt too many other people." She felt sorry for him, and was ashamed at herself for not being able to make him feel any better. "When I saw you, at the sphinx, it made me so angry. He wasn't worth whatever you could give him. He promised me he wouln' come near you, and den he… he made you hurt people… people you love, like he made me. I… I… Rogue, I killed him… like I killed Julien."

            "What?" Rogue was thoroughly confused.

            "My powers re-manifested." Remy clarified. "De Beast said that anyone wit' the knowledge Sinister had, had t'know that operatin' on a developin' brain… he knew it would grow back." Rogue was sure she knew what he meant, but she wasn't sure she could believe it.

            "So…?" She pressed further.

            "See that plant in th'corner, behind the chair by th'door?" He pointed to a small tree behind the chair he had been sleeping in. She nodded and he closed his eyes to concentrate. She watched it as the planter sparked and a pink glow began to spread about it, then in through the soil, then up through the narrow trunk of the tree, spreading to the branches and leaves. When it started hissing, she put a hand on his shoulder, telling him to stop it. He shook her off, having to concentrate harder to uncharge it. When he opened his eyes to look back at her, she was terrified and confused.

            "From across the room?" was all she could utter.

            "Anything at all… from across the room." He nodded.

            "Ah thought you couldn't control it? Ah mean, how did you learn so fast?"

            "It took a lot 'a concentration… I worked wit' the prof. three days straight through… they wouldn't let me leave 'til they knew I wouldn't hurt no one. I still got a long way to go." Rogue leaned back on the bed, more frustrated about having missed so much by her absence than anything else. "But th'only way I could focus enough t'get this far… was t'think 'bout you." He hoped his remark would make her smile, but instead, she looked up at him, still in shock. 

            "Ah wish I'd known… then maybe Ah wouldn've…"

            "Wouldn've what?" Remy asked, immediately worried.

            "Up on the roof, when Ah got taken. Vertigo, she… she offered me control…" Rogue was interrupted when a glass jar holding cotton balls exploded on the counter in her room in the med lab. 

            "You what?" Remy tried to ignore the fact that things were exploding, trying to stay focused on his conversation, but he couldn't stop things from detonating all around him.

            "No! Ah didn't mean it!" Rogue said, trying to make him stop. "Remy, please, Ah'm sorry, I would've done it anyway! I'm sorry Ah blame other people!" Nothing she said was helping, and he couldn't make himself stop. He grabbed the sides of his head again and tried to shut out everything, but it wasn't working. He started to run out of things to blow up, while Rogue tried to shield her eyes from flying glass and metal, when the bed frame beneath them lit up. "Remy, it's not your fault, Ah love you." With those words, he was able to take a deep breath and focus. As the bed stopped glowing, he looked up to Rogue, she was scared. But his empathy told him it wasn't for herself. She was afraid for him.

            "Despite all the terrible things I done t'you? As much as I lied to you, and left you alone, and all the horrendous things I brought int'your life, you still love me?" He whispered.

            "No." She said, pausing to think on her response. "Ah love you because you been played into doin' all those things, and you're tryin' your damned hardest to fix things. Ah also love you because you're the only one who's ever made me feel… not poisonous, or scary, or damaged. Ah love you because you haven't ever brought me a single horrible experience that hasn't made us stronger. He smiled, knowing her love was pure and true. "An' Kitty was right… you do have a cute butt." He turned a devilish smile at her.

            "Cute? That's all?"

            "Isn't that enough?" She smiled back.

            "It ain't ever enough fo'Remy." He replied. "Especially after you tell me you love me."

            "Oh yeah, about that… you're s'posed to return the favor." She encouraged him. He was suddenly no longer able to keep eye contact. The mere sight of it made her angry. "Remy--" He cut her off when he pounced on her, leaving her mouth occupied. At first she tried to resist, afraid she would hurt him, but after a second, when nothing happened, she gave in. After the initial shock of their touch, she could taste the cigarettes on his breath, the same he had in her head that would never go away. She finally convinced herself to push him away, to let go of feeling the rough skin of his chin on hers. Remy was smiling, quite proud of himself, but Rogue just looked frustrated and angry.

            "Aren't ya gonna ask me how--"

            "No." She interrupted him coldly. "Ah know why, and that's enough for me." She lied, so giddy and willing to do anything to have that feeling again, but on the outside, her expression was harsh and bitter as she folded her arms across her chest and refused to look at him.

            "Roguey--" He pleaded with her.

            "Don't call me that!!" She yelled at him, startling him. She sighed, realizing it had been a long time since she'd actually told him to stop. "Remy, why can't you say it?"

            "Rogue…" He shook his head as he tried to find words. "Rogue… I… everyone I love gets hurt."

            "But you _do_ love me." He just looked at her, neither confirming nor denying her statement, but then again, she didn't need confirmation. "Remy, what else could happen?"

            "You could die."

            "Just because you say three little words? The point of bein' in love is so you can be completely vulnerable to someone else. Do you know how hard that was for me? I don't know why it matters so much, but it does. Please say it, Remy... if you mean it – an' Ah know you do… Say it so Ah can love you as much as Ah know you love me."  He looked up to her and her piercing green, desperate green eyes grabbed him and wouldn't let go. He felt every feeling he had for her rise to the surface, and he wanted to throw up. No girl had ever made him feel him so nervous before… before Rogue.

            "Chère… My whole life I been forced int'thinkin' if I cold live wit' her, and she could do f'r me what I wanted… then that's all I need. But when I met you… I honestly wasn' sure I could live wit' you an I still don' know. What I do know, is that I can't live without ya. Every second you're gone ain't a second worth livin'. Honestly, Rogue, I can't remember NOT lovin' you." He looked up from the playing card he'd subconsciously pulled out of his pocket and began fumbling with, to see her reaction. 

            "Sooo…?" She beckoned him to continue.

            "Sooo… what I'm sayin' is, I love you, Rogue. I've always loved you, an' no matter what happens, I'm always gonna love you." She smiled as he finally let her heart be at ease, but she quickly went back to a scowl before he noticed. "What now?" Remy grumbled.

            "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She said snidely.

            "I got a feelin' it wouldna been the truth if it wasn' so hard t'say." She smiled, but neither of them knew what to say, so there was awkward silence.

            "So how does it work?" Rogue finally asked. 

            "It's a plus 'a 'the powers unleashed'." He paused, but she just waited for an explanation. "I now have ultimate control over kinetic and potential energy. I can tap into the kinetic energy of your powers, converted it into potential energy, and hold 'em back… long story short, they can't hurt me." Rogue smiled at him innocently, but her eyes grew gradually more wicked. Luckily, Remy could sense what she was going to do before he did it, so he was prepared, but he didn't try to stop her. She would've jumped on him, but after having laid in bed for over a week, her legs were quite useless, so she grabbed him by the back of his neck, and shoved her tongue in his mouth. They _shared a rather long, involved, passionate kiss. He put his hand on her cheek and she nestled it, without opening her eyes. She enjoyed the warmth of his lips and the feeling of his breath on her face. She could feel the tickle his eyelashes to the side of her face. But, she stopped when her tongue was stung by static electricity._

            "Ow." She said, putting a hand on her tongue to see if she could feel a burn.

            "Oh… about that… your powers are gonna find, away to compensate unless I keep puttin' more energy into it. Eventually, it's gonna start hurtin' ya real bad…"

            "Then Ah gueth we'll juth have ta make 'em count." She said with a lisp as he brushed her white bangs out of her face.      

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**Rogue151 – Oh yeah… "Planet X" and "Here Comes Tomorrow"… "Planet X" was awesome but I hate how Morrison made Magneto look like a pathetic old fool… Magneto is timeless villain, not an out dated one. And "Here Comes Tomorrow" is kinda confusing.. I'm not a fan of time traveling, but it looks really cool, I just hope it explains itself soon. And I subscribe to X-Treme… it's kinda sad right now… I hope this arc is better than the past few, what's wrong with Claremont? (I'm looking forward to the next arc though… I hope Psylocke comes back!!!) And Kordey's art makes me wanna barf. Anyhoo, I hope you like this chapter… Uber Rogue… Uber Romy!!**

**Ishandahalf – Yay!! You like my humor!! It's so hard to sit down and write funny stuff. Thanks for the sympathy about finals… they weren't as bad as I thought, but I guess I won't know 'til I get my grades back. (I think French raped me…) Hee hee, I'm sorry for making you think you had to wait, and I hope this was enough Rogue/Romy to make up for it!**

**Roguewanderer – Oh good, I'm glad that worked. Enough Rogue for ya in this one? I hope so, I doubt I could get anymore in there. I'm glad you don't mind that Jean lived. It just wouldn't have been right to let her die. I can't wrap up everything neatly if Jean died. Just the way it works. Anyhoo, I hope you like this chappy!**

**Gothic Cajun – Once again, sorry I made you think you had to wait. Hope this was good Romyness, eh? I'm so glad you caught the gold thing!! I wasn't sure if anyone was as obsessed with comics as me! Comics Jean does rock. I didn't like Evo Jean for a while there (could tell toward the beginning of the story?) But I have since pulled my butt out of my head, and she isn't so bad. Anypoop, hope you liked this week's installment!**

**Aimtbj – Perfect? Wow, thanks! Never fear, this was not the end… it was the climax of the story, but there's lots left to be resolved! I might have an epilogue, I haven't decided yet, there's one little part that doesn't seem to fit any where, but I dunno. Anyway, I'm glad you've enjoyed my story, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

**Julie – Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you liked my interpretation, even if you didn't like the comics. I haven't really thought about another story, I'll have to work on it for a while before I start anything, but keep checking back, maybe I'll come up with something. I'm so glad this fills the void Evo has left in you. Shame on KidsWB! For not wanting to bring it back… you heard that, right? At least it's back on Cartoon Network for a while. Thank you so much for your kind words!!**

**Sophie – Bwah ha ha ha!! Never challenge the master!! But that always happens when I write. I write it, and then I read it over and it doesn't make any sense. Long, long, editing sessions go into these things. Wow, computers are really bad at translating sarcasm, aren't they? Oh well, whaddya gonna do? Thank you for being so patient… but truth is, if I didn't give myself a specific deadline, I'd never finish it.**

**Ravyn Nyte – Yay!! A new reviewer!! Hee hee.. it took you a week to read this thing?? Blimey. I started to print it out for posterity's sake, and it's already over 500 pages double spaced. I'm glad you like enough to stick with it though!! (Even after I almost killed Pyro…) I couldn't kill Pyro after I killed Illyana... that would be too tragic. Thank you so much about the fight scenes… they're just so hard to write!! And I hope you like this Romy… but I think you're right, it did happen really fast. I'm just gonna go with… uh… absence makes the heart grow fonder. Yeah, that sounds good. And what can I say, it pleases the fans? Once again,  I don't know about a sequel, but it is going to end soon… two more chapters left. I have to start writing the last one soon… I've been putting it off because I never want it to end!! (wow, how sad am I?) And about the Horsemen question, Sinister was the fourth. He was pestilence, he said so. He just didn't have to brainwashed into it. And what's going to happen with Carol… hmmm… you'll just have to tune in next week to find out!! Thank you so much!! Hmmm… wonder what I'll do with all those brownie points and that bag of chips… Anyway, thank you so much for your review, and keep 'em comin'!!**

**Aro – sorry if you think I'm updating behind your back… I post every week, like clock work! (You could put me on your favorites list, and you wouldn't have that problem! ;-P) Okay, I'm glad you didn't honestly think I was a king (could a guy write all this mushy romance?? I don't think so…) Thank you so much, and keep those reviews comin'!!**

**And you 20 people who have me on your watch list – Wow, I never felt so loved!!! But hey, where are my reviews?? Reading this thing ain't free!! (Just kidding, don't leave me!!! I'm sorry!! It was a joke!!!)**


	36. Chapter 36

You all LOOOOVED my Romy fluff, I am please to hear!!! w00t!! AAAahhhhh for all the romy shippers. Anyhoosle, this is the second to last chapter. Only one more left… and it's a doozy. Stick around, it will be great! Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews!! They make me so happy, and I love each and every one of you.          

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            "So… uh… How are you?" Kitty announced her presence from the doorway of Peter's room. He was surprised to see her as he looked up from his furious sketching while lying on his bed.

            "Alright… I supposed." He answered timidly as he sat up, signaling her to come in. "How are _you_, Katya?" She sighed as she sat next to him on the bed.

            "The same, I guess." She replied. "I mean… I would've… I would've _killed him." She gasped at herself._

            "Me too, Katya, in an instant." He tried to comfort her. She looked up at him and let out another sigh. Then she looked to the open sketch book he'd set on the bed. She knew the moment she laid eyes on it who it was a portrait of, even though she'd never seen the face before. 

            "No, I mean, if he hadn't done what he did at the exact second he did, he would be dead… because of me." She tried to explain.

            "But he is dead, and not because of you." Peter continued.

            "Because of Remy. And he didn't even mean to." She shot down his valiant efforts. "The irony…" She trailed off. Peter had nothing to say in response.  "He's going to have to live with that for the rest of his life."

            "I will not lose sleep." Peter mumbled simply.

            "What? One of your best friends violently murdered someone and you don't care?" Kitty was disgusted.

            "No, that's not what I meant." He tried to defend himself. "Remy is indeed my friend and I will be here for him if he ever needs me… and I know that God sees the truth in all of this. But you said it yourself, Katya, if anyone deserved to die, it was that monster. And while I would never condone merciless violence, this… this was an accident. It was fate. It happened and it cannot be changed." Kitty looked down at the drawing and put it in her lap. His logic was irrefutable.

             "Does it ever make you feel like it isn't worth it?" She finally said, throwing him back. He had to think for a moment on how he would respond.

            "Sometimes." Peter answered. "But I cannot let it deter me. You must think of all the good we are trying to do."

            "See! That's just it: 'The good we are _trying_ to do'. It doesn't really seem like we're accomplishing anything. Since the beginning, the brotherhood has hated us, then… y'know… you guys, the Acolytes, then rest of the world, the Nasty boys, Marauders and Infinites, and now this evil… evil… _thing_… that can't be killed, and the fate of the world is thrust entirely on our shoulders while the universe was trying to destroy itself for kicks! Things just seem to be getting worse." Peter listened to what she said, and grew disappointed.

            "So you are saying there will never be peace? That mutants cannot coexist with anyone else? That Magneto is righ--"

            "No! No!" She cut him off. "Not at all! I wholeheartedly believe in the professor's dream, I do. But it was never _my _dream. I came here to stop phasing through my bed in my sleep and stop falling through my chair in class. I never signed on to be a superhero. I mean, look at what's happened to me! It's almost turned me into a murderer! And then, back home, my parents are splitting up and my whole world is falling apart right around me, and there's nothing I can do about it because I'm too busy saving six billion people who all hate me! It's just… it's tearing me apart." Peter threw his massive arm over her shoulders as she began to cry. "Sometimes I just… I just want to be normal. I mean… why? Why me?"

            "Because if not you… then who?" Peter whispered to her. Her tears slowed down as she absorbed his words. "Just think of this: Of the enemies you've mentioned, the brotherhood, the Acolytes, even Magneto himself, have fought along side you. The Phoenix fought along side you, and left. The Infinites… they have gone. You have defeated them… with your gift. You worry about the death of one man who had hurt so many… so many people you personally know and love, yet you question the value of six billion innocent, uninformed lives? Katya, you are a savior… Why not you?" She finally looked back up at him as he wiped her tears from her cheeks for her. 

            "I guess… I guess I never thought of it like that." She said. "God… I feel so selfish."

            "After all that has happened, you deserve to feel a bit selfish." Peter reassured her. She forced out a smile but she didn't really feel any better. "What did Lance say when you told him how you felt?" His question caught her by surprise.

            "Oh… uh… Lance… well, uh, I haven't really told him." She mumbled.

            "Is that not something you should tell your boyfriend?" He asked her.

            "No, it's not that… it's just… well, he's been so busy with the prof. getting things set up in Australia that I just didn't wanna… y'know, distract him, I guess." Kitty replied evasively.

            "Oh." Peter said simply. "When he goes… will you go with him?" The way he asked sounded to Kitty as if he was afraid of the answer. It made her feel loved.

            "No." She smiled. Peter smiled back, relieved. "Maybe that's why I'm shutting my self off from Lance. I know it's not gonna last forever." She sighed.

            "You should enjoy it while you can." He advised her.

            "If I learned anything from being away from home so long, that's definitely it."

            "Will your parents be coming in for the uh… Thanksgiving… tomorrow?" She sighed again as she took the sketchbook off her lap and placed it gently back on the bed beside her.

            "No. My dad threw his back out yesterday while he was moving out of the house and my mom's gonna stay to take care of him." She started to walk out of the room. "I'm going home right after the holiday though."

            "Well, that's good." He said back.

            "Who knows, maybe they'll, like, get back together or something?" Kitty replied cynically. Peter just shrugged his shoulders, not sure how to respond appropriately. "Oh, Peter, if you want to talk about… y'know… Illyana, I'm here for you." She said as she stopped in the doorway.

            "Thank you, Katya." He answered warmly. She smiled back, then danced out of the room.

*          *          *   

            "What are _you_ doing here?" Wanda scoffed bitterly, alerting Pietro and Pyro to Magnus' presence in the entry to her room in the med lab. Pietro faced her cross-legged, sitting toward the foot of her bed, while Pyro sat in a chair beside her. When they both saw him in the doorway, they looked at each other with fear, then they slowly started to get up. They both walked out silently, glaring at Magnus just as coldly as he glared at both of them.

            "I've never felt I needed to explain myself to anybody before now." He finally answered her once the other two had left the room. She just scoffed at him impatiently and folded her arms across her chest. "Wanda, I--"

            "You never expected I'd get my memories back, did you?" She interrupted him as he went to sit down in the chair Pyro had previously occupied. He was much less intimidating in his button down shirt and slacks instead of his cape and helmet. "Pyro and Pietro told me everything."

            "Wanda--"

            "I was getting in your way, wasn't I?" She interrupted him again. He was growing impatient, but his face remained stoic as he was determined to explain his side of the story, no matter how long it took.

            "That's part of it." She finally let him answer. She was surprised by his response, expecting him to deny everything. "But also, I couldn't stand to see you suffer any longer for what I had done to you." She rolled her eyes, finally hearing the smarmy bullshit she had been waiting for. 

            "Why did you send me there?" As much as she tried to fight, tried to choke them back, to remain strong and angry, tears still welled up in the back of her eyes.

            "I had to protect my children… _both_ of you." He answered with a sigh. She just stared at him coldly, waiting for him to explain. "You don't remember _that,_ do you?" She cocked her head to the side, confirming his suspicions. "Your powers were out of control. When I found you, you'd just come into them. You were ruled by your emotions. And with your potential, you were very dangerous."

            "So I just got too difficult to deal with, and you just passed me off on someone else?"

            "You really don't remember…" Her father continued, this time more aghast.

            "Remember what?" She demanded.

            "You were hurting Pietro." He finally answered clearly. Wanda was shocked at this revelation. "_He_ probably doesn't even remember… It got to the point where he wouldn't come out of his room, he was so afraid of angering you." Wanda began to grow disgusted with herself. "After I sent you there, I felt so… so guilty, that I questioned my own qualifications as a parent. I sent Pietro back with the Maximoffs." They both paused, not knowing what to say next. "You always had great potential, Wanda… you still do. You could be one of the most powerful mutants on the planet one day. You're well on your way, now. But first you must learn to control your emotions… your raw power." She unfolded her arms and looked at her hands as she put them in her lap.

            "Pyro and I are leaving right after Thanksgiving." She said, trying to change the subject. 

            "I thought things in Australia weren't going to be ready for a few more weeks." Magnus said, letting on a bit of surprise.

            "They won't, we're going early. Pyro hasn't seen his family since he met _you." She spat, trying to make him feel guilty the way he'd made her feel._

            "It's a shame we won't be working together anymore." He said, not letting her win. She just scoffed at him again. "Despite the fact you will be working to protect the very thing I wish to dispel… I hope you will be happy." He said as he began to get up to leave. She just followed him with her eyes, not moving her head. "You get your humanity from your mother." He said casually over his shoulder from the doorway.

            "Wait." She perked up at the comment. "Tell me about my mother." He stopped and allowed himself to smile before he turned back to his daughter.

*          *          *

            "Mmmm… French toast?" Jean moaned as the sweet scent tingled in her nose. Scott set the tray of food on the table next to her bed in the med lab and sat down beside her as she opened her eyes. 

            "I figured it was about time for you to be waking up." He whispered. "How are you?"

            "Well rested." Jean smiled. 

            "You should be. You slept for about a week." Scott said as he brushed her hair behind her ear.

            "She… it… it did things to me that… well, it exerted me physically, mentally and emotionally… in ways I didn't even know that I was capable of." She informed him as he helped her situate the food on her lap. The second she was able, she instantly began scarfing down the French toast. Scott couldn't help but to smile at her.

            "You're so… beautiful." He finally said.

            "Please, I'm a pig." She retorted with a mouthful of food as she shoved more in.  "I don't think I've ever been so hungry in my life."

            "I missed you so much." Scott replied. Jean stopped, put down her fork, and swallowed the half chewed food in her mouth. 

            "I missed you too, Scott. The worst part though, for the longest time… I didn't even know if you were real or if I imagined you." Scott sighed, saddened by what she said. "And then I saw you, and I felt like there was nothing I could do. That's when I truly knew what I was dealing with. The Phoenix was in complete control of me. It was using me. The Hellfire Club manipulated everything about me. I was a prisoner in my own body. I was screaming and fighting with everything I had, but to the Phoenix, it was like I was hardly there at all."

            "Wow." Scott gasped. "That sounds… terrible."

            "No, Scott, that's just it." He cocked his head to the side, confused. "I never felt so… so… _alive_. I felt things I'd never felt before. I saw things… did things… I never knew I could. I mean, granted, I couldn't decide what to do and what not to do, but I was there the whole time." Scott was confused, but more interested. "I've been from one side of this universe to the other. I've gone where no man has gone before. I saw stars exploding that we wouldn't have even known existed for millions of years.  I saw other races of people, living their lives, not knowing--" Suddenly, she stopped cold. Her face turned white as a ghost.

            "What is it, Jean?" Scott asked, fearing for her. "What's wrong?"

            "Oh my god, Scott…" She muttered, dropping her jaw. "I killed them…"

            "What?"

            "The other races… the stars exploding… I _did _that… I killed them."

            "No, Jean… it wasn't you."

            "It felt _good_, Scott, to crush entire solar systems under my power… I didn't try to stop it… billions of lives… and I enjoyed it… I…" Scott threw his arms around her as she started to cry.

            "I don't know what to tell you." Scott said. "You can't honestly believe this is your fault."

            "I got a thrill from their fear… the excitement of a new experience… entire planets of people… gone… because of me." Jean shot him down.

            "I guess I just don't know how you feel. But I promise I'll be here for you, and you can cry right here until you feel better." Scott tried again to comfort her.

            "I think that's the best thing you can do." She said as she continued crying on his shoulder. "Hey, Scott?"

            "Yeah?"

            "I love you." She mumbled into the crook of his neck.

            "I love you too." He smiled back. "I missed you so much."

*          *          *

            She tried her hardest to muffle her sobs as she shoved things that were supposed to belong to her in a duffle bag.

            "Carol?" It took a moment before Dr. Reyes' voice registered in her mind and she turned around. "You're leaving already?" 

            "Why should I stay?" Carol asked back as Cecelia took slow, cautious steps toward her, inside the room in the med lab. "I have nothing here. I have nothing at all." She said, going back to shoving things in her bag.

            "That's not true--"

            "She sucked me dry." Carol interrupted her. "The professor tried, but there was nothing. You know, you called me 'Carol' and I know that's my name, but it still took half a second before I went 'Carol… I'm Carol… she's talking to me'."

            "That still doesn't mean you have to leave." Cecelia tried to persuade her.

            "Whatever made me special… it's gone. I'm nothing now. I have no reason to stay here." Then Carol caught a glimpse in the window that looked into the next room and saw Rogue in her bed, Remy lying beside her.

            "Carol--" Dr. Reyes said. She didn't have anything else to add, but knew whatever was going through her mind as she stole a look in the other room was not a good idea.

            "Look at them." Carol continued, keeping her eyes on Rogue. "She woke up and he was waiting for her. She doesn't have a care in the world. And she shouldn't." 

            "Carol--" The doctor tried again to get a word in edgewise.

            "She has everything I could ever want to get my life back. It's all right there, wrapped up inside her. She doesn't even want it. She probably won't ever even think about it."

            "That's not true--"

            "She shouldn't _have_ to worry about it. It was my fault. The purple haired girl and the professor said so. I shouldn't be here as a reminder. It's not fair. I can't… I can't stay here and not just… not just _hate_ her." As she spoke, she felt ashamed of herself. Cecelia couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "I can't watch her go to school everyday, sit across from her at meals. I can't watch her go on about her life…I…" She paused to sniff and wipe tears from her cheeks. "I can't even look at her without feeling cheated and bitter." She paused again to choke back a wave of sorrow that had balled up in her throat. "It's not fair to either of us. I can't stay."

            Carol's words were harsh and depressing, but Cecelia knew they were true. She knew there was no way of persuading Carol, and that it would be better if she did go; if she went to look for whatever she was hoping to find.

            "Carol, please stay." Dr. Reyes said, feeling it was her duty to try and convince her, not wanting to give up.

            "Umm… I have the number here, and I'll come back, or… or call if I need anything." Carol went on, brushing off Cecelia. "Tell, uh… uh…" Carol couldn't remember the name she was looking for.

            "Dr. McC--" Cecelia tried to help when Carol figured it out for herself.

            "Hank." Carol said. "Tell Hank I'm sorry… tell the professor… tell him not to contact me." Cecelia nodded at her requests. "Tell them both… I said 'thank you'." With that, Carol blew past Cecelia out the door, trying to get away before she started crying again. Cecelia took a few steps to chase after her, but then she stopped, hoping Carol would find her way.

*          *          *

            "Thought you'd be gone by now." Logan's calm, but brooding, raspy voice slightly startled Mystique as she sat on the edge of the roof watching Bayville bustle before her.

            "Obviously I haven't" She retorted as Logan crouched down beside her

            "Y'know, they both do this when they just need to get away."

            "Who?" She asked without turning her head.

            "Who do you think would take after you most?" He replied impatiently. She finally turned her head to glare at him, but went back to her gazing as she sighed.

            "They're nothing like me." Mystique said. "They're better than me."

            "Well… yeah." Logan said.

            "Thanks for the compassion." She rolled her eyes, pulling up a knee under her chin, leaving one leg dangling off the edge.

            "No, I mean, I thought that was the point of havin' kids… to leave the world a better place than you found it." Logan clarified. She looked up at him as she considered the validity of his statement. 

            "But this place isn't any better." She shot him down.

            "Not yet… but it will be… because of Rogue and the elf." She just rolled her eyes again. "Look at it this way; they've turned out to be great people despite everything you've done to them. If they can survive havin' you as a mother, they can do anything." She just looked away, growing increasingly angry at hearing the truth. "Who decided to give you kids anyway?" Mystique looked up at him, her eyes glowing a ferocious yellow.

            "Kurt's father is a long story… and Rogue… Rogue wouldn't have gotten anywhere near me if it wasn't for Destiny." She rested her chin back atop her knee and there was an awkward silence. "It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Mystique shouted bitterly. Logan could detect the distinct scent of tears in the back of her eyes. "I never even really decided I wanted to be a mother. Why do I feel so bad?"

            "Maternal instincts, I guess." Logan said, not sure whether to put a hand on her shoulder, or try to look her in the eye, or whether to do nothing at all. "It's all animalistic."

            "Maybe that explains why you're better at parenting my children than I could ever be." He looked up at her, shocked at the revelation, knowing it was a compliment in disguise; but she merely acted as if it was a simple statement she'd thrown over her shoulder. 

            "Mysti--"

            "The Phoenix." She cut him off before he could respond. "She said you would be rewarded."

            "Yeah." Logan nodded, taking a second to remember what she was talking about.

            "This is it, isn't it?" She lifted her head to look back at him. "These people who all love you so purely despite all the bad things you may have done in  your past. This is your reward, isn't it?"

            "Yeah… I guess so…" He answered. "But it's not despite all the bad things I've done, it's because I've tried so hard to make something of myself… to do good for other people when I know so little about myself." They both paused. He waited for her to respond, but she said nothing. All he could see that was any indication of what she was thinking or feeling was a single tear rolling down her face. "Y'know, Mystique, you can always stay he--"

            "I'm leaving now." She cut him off again, casually wiping the tear from her cheek, hoping he didn't notice. "Tell them… tell them I'm leaving them alone now… forever. I promise."

            "Mystique…" He tried to stop her as she stood up.

            "No, I need to go… get my life together. I don't wanna cause them anymore pain… just… I promise." With that, she morphed into a raven and flew away.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

**Star-of-Chaos – Yay for the new reviewer!! Yay for the romy-lovin' fluff. I'm glad you liked it! Keep those reviews a comin'!**

**Rogue 151 – I know there's no 'a' in dressing… I was trying to accentuate her southern accent… I should have said that now that I think about it. Oh well. I, myself, am not really a stuffing fan… in fact, I hate it. But it is a really southern thang down here in Tennessee… but I don't eat Turkey though either… frozen pizza at thanksgiving dinner for me! Anyway, rambling about comics is never a problem with me! Planet X was insanely awesome, and Here Comes Tomorrow is really good too… I really recommend it. X-Treme is bugging me though, especially the art… Kordey make me wanna vomit, but I think I said that before. But after the Bogan arc, Marvel's discontinuing X-Treme X-Men and replacing it with a re-vamp of Excalibur and some un-named title. I can't stand the idea of Anna being Rogue's real name, even though they never said it was her real name, it's just an alias she happens to use quite often. I don't think they should ever reveal Rogue's real name. It especially shouldn't be Anna… that' such a cop out taking the name from Anna Paquin, her actor in the movies. Blech. I'm glad they're ending X-Treme, actually. And keep reviewing!!**

**Roguewanderer – No, huzzah to YOU! I'm glad you enjoyed the Romy fluff!! One more chapter to go, so stick around!!**

**Vynny – WooHoo!! Fluff lover!! It's okay to be slow. I… am… always… slow… get it?? No? Am I just being retarded? Okay then. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and it's always good when people get touch those they love. *Swoon*. Anypoop, thanks for the review and keep it comin'!!**

**TMR – I'm so glad it made you happy!! Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment, I know there's no Rogue in this chapter, but I hope you like it just as much. Some Romyness coming in the next chapter… the last chapter… I still don't know about another story, I don't really have any ideas for one, and I've spent so much effort on this one, I think I'm picked clean. Maybe I'll think of something, you never know!!**

**Ishandahalf – Romy lovers unite!! I'm so happy the fluffy fluff made your day! More romy (not too terribly much though) to come. I hope you like this chapter too!! Keep those reviews a comin' supa fast!**

**Aimtbj – You gotta appreciate the romy to enjoy the last chapter. I'm glad it isn't sickening you, cuz there are some fics out there that get so sickening with the romy… anyway, I'm glad you like my writing, that makes me so happy!! Stick around, only one, big fat chapter left!**

**Sickmindedsucker – Yay!! Yet another new reviewer!! (Because you HAVEN'T reviewed before… *tapping my foot with my hands on my hips*… but yeah, better late than never!) By the way, I love your name, it's awesome!! I'm so happy you like my fic!! Did this come fast enough?? I'm sorry if it didn't, but I keep to a pretty strict schedule. All that's left is to Thanksgiving dinner, and oh so much will happen, you just wait and see!! Keep up the reviews!!**

** Sophie – You put me in your bio!?! I'm so honored!! (No sarcasm, by the way!) I'm glad you enjoyed the romy, it had been quite a while… and I'm sorry I lied, making you think you had to wait an extra week. (I actually didn't lie, it just worked out better, organization wise, to put the romyness first… I think I mentioned that, but I'm too lazy to go check.) Anyway, I'm so happy you like my fic so much!! Keep the awesome reviews a flowin'!!**

**Julie – You so made my day with that one. Thank you SSSSOOOO much!! The compliments mean so much to me!! I'm so flattered to be numero uno on your favorites!! You liked my romy so much you read it THREE TIMES?? Wow. With all the Romy floating out there, you read mine THREE TIMES!!! Thank you so much!! You always make my day!! Don't stop!! I need it like a drug!! Ugh, and I so wish Gambit was real… oh man… if he was… well, what I would do he was would be reported as abuse, so I'll refrain myself. But just so you know, you're not alone!**

**Just Because – Thank you so much!! I hope you keep reviewing!! I'm so happy you like my fic so much!!**

**And the rest of you who still read, but have never reviewed – I'm WAAAAIIIIITTTTING!!! There is only one more chapter after this, so you better let me know how much you love me!!! And just so you know, even if you don't review, I still love you. **


	37. Chapter 37

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!: This is **NOT** the **last chapter. Repeat: **_THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER_**. I'm sorry I lied last week… well, I really just spoke too soon. This chapter got too heinously long, and I had to break it up. So there's still ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT AFTER THIS ONE!! Next week is the REAL last chapter, so never fear. I'm so glad you all like my story so much… you don't know how wonderfully loved it makes me feel. Thank you so much for all of your reviews, and keep 'em comin'!!!**

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

            Betsy stood at the top of the stairs looking down at the zoo beneath her. Scott, Jean and Amanda were sitting on the sofa, Kurt and Alex in the chairs beside them. Jean and Amanda were obviously bored while Scott, Kurt and Alex were enjoying a close football game on TV. As the boys jumped up to cheer, Betsy jumped back, startled and unfamiliar with the ritual of American football.  She was giggling at their enthusiasm and her own reaction when Peter bumped into her.

            "Excuse me, Betsy." He said politely. Betsy just nodded her head and smiled at him, and he went on his way, giving his parents a tour of the mansion in Russian. The doorbell rang and Betsy took a deep breath as she went to answer it. She was stopped when Logan met her going up the stairs. 

            "I'm goin' back to the grocery, you need anything?" He grumbled at her, hardly acknowledging her presence.

            "You're going again?" She asked, trying to get him to stop and look at her.

            "Yeah, Kitty messed up somethin' else of Ro's."

            "Oh." She replied simply and watched Logan as he walked down the hall. Toad and Blob had their ears pressed against one of the bedroom doors.

            "Get a life… both of ya." Logan said as he passed them. They just ignored him.

            "Can you hear anything?" Toad asked Blob.

            "Not if ya don't shut up!" Blob responded. Suddenly everything rustled as a rush of air blew through the hallway, and Pietro was there. 

            "Hey, you orange haired fruit! You better not be messin' with my sister!" Pietro yelled at the door.

            "Bite me, Pietro!" They could all hear Wanda yell back.

            "Sorry, children." The professor said as he wheeled past them with Magnus at his side. "No boys in girls' rooms or girls in boys' rooms with the door shut." Then they continued on their way.

            "Hey, professor, I got an idea!!" Lance said as he chased after him down the hall. The door opened and Wanda stepped out, followed by Pyro. Satisfied that they were where everyone could see them, Pietro rushed off, past Lance, past the professor and his father, past Betsy, and stopped at the TV below. He briefly watched the action in the football game, then ran off to do something else. When the doorbell rang again, it made Betsy jump. She looked around, surprised to see that no one had answered the door yet. Betsy sighed again and continued to approach the doorway. As she reached her hand out to turn the knob, she felt the presence of the person behind it and smiled with relief.

            "Welcome back to mutant manor." She said to the ever-armored Spyke standing outside.

            "Uh… hey, Psylocke, right?"

            "Yes… but I prefer Betsy." She said, ushering him inside. As he walked in, a little girl blew past them both, running straight for Kurt. Betsy just watched her go, then looked back up at Spyke.

            "She wouldn't let me come without her." He shrugged his shoulders

            "Well, we'll have plenty of food." Betsy said. "It's quite nice to meet you again… under better circumstances…"

            "Yeah." He said as he put a hand up over the bandages around his chest. "Dr. MacTaggart wouldn't let me come unless she could keep in contact with the Teach all the time." He explained is still critical condition. 

            "The Teach?" Betsy asked, unfamiliar with the name.

            "Oh, yeah, Dr. McCoy…" Spyke clarified.

            "Oh… with as much as I know about everyone here, there's still so much that… that I'm on the outside of…" Betsy said.

            "Yeah, I know how that feels." He reassured her. "Don't worry about it, you just haven't been here long enough to create your own inside jokes." His comforting words made her smile. "I don't know where you were before here, but I bet it was the same thing when you first went there."

            "Uh… no… That was quite a different experience." 

            "Well, whatever, you'll find your own skin." He said, finally making sense to her. "Uh, is Aun--"

            "Roro!!" Betsy shouted, cutting him off. "Your nephew's here!" In less than a split second, Storm was at their side, engulfing Spyke in a hug.

            "Auntie O, you're suffocating me!" Betsy took her cue to leave, shutting the door and wandering off.

            "Evan, I'm so happy to see you! How are you?" Storm asked as she finally let him go.

            "I'm better." He said. "Can't say as much for everyone else…"

            "When are you leaving Scotland?" Her question made him sigh sorrowfully.

            "I don't really know." He replied. "We can't go back to the Alley."

            "Really?" Storm asked, not surprised, but not wanting to believe it.

            "Yeah. I mean, everyone knows we're there now, and the first time we reveal ourselves, it's an all out massacre that spilled into the streets. Not to mention the damage to the sewer systems… They'd never let us back in there, and if they did, I doubt they'd ever leave us alone."

            "Where will you go?"

            "Don't know yet." He shrugged his shoulders. "Cal's been talking to some guy Mikhail, who says he knows a place where we can be safe, but I don't think she likes the idea."

            "You can always stay here." Storm proposed cautiously.

            "I know that Auntie O, but I can't. First off, there wouldn't be room for all of us, and they need me. Our numbers went from 60 to 20 in less than an hour and a half. And now that people know about us, there's no where they can go to be safe. They've never been more vulnerable." Storm sighed as she listened to the desperate situation of the Morlocks. "And here… here I'm just another kid who can't control his powers. I think I was more of an annoyance than anything. There, they look up to me. They depend on me. I have _purpose. Wherever they're going, I'm going with them, Auntie O. __They're my family now."_

            "Have you told your mother?" She tried to change the subject from his soon departure. 

            "Nah… I guess I'll tell her when I go for dinner tonight."

            "You're eating _two_ Thanksgiving dinners?" Storm gasped.

            "Sure! Best meal of the year!" She smiled and rolled her eyes at him. "Man, I forget how crazy it can get around here." Evan said as he surveyed just the living room.

            "Just imagine how crazy it would be if we didn't send the new recruits home!" With that, she walked back into the kitchen and left Evan to catch up with his friends.

*          *          *

            Kurt was blindsided when the little girl jumped in his lap.

            "Torpid? What are you doing here?" She didn't answer him, instead she giggled uncontrollably and grabbed his arm, switching off his holowatch, to reveal his blue fur and tail. She threw her arms around him in a hug. Everyone was laughing at him, but his heart melted instantly. "Awww… I'm happy to see you too. Hey Torpid, this is my girlfriend." He said, pointing to Amanda. Torpid sat up and her giddy smile turned to a precious scowl.

            "Hi Torpid, I'm Amanda." Amanda said, extending her hand for a handshake. Torpid looked at her exposed hand and smiled a fiendish grin. She quickly slipped her hand out of her rubber glove and grabbed Amanda's hand, turning her arm as solid as stone, and letting out another innocent, adorable, giggle.

            "Hey! I oughta turn you into a frog!" Amanda shouted at her. "If I knew how…"

            "Torpid, that wasn't very nice " Kurt tried to keep a serious face, but he couldn't help but laugh to himself.

            "Looks like somebody's jealous…" Jean said.

            "Yeah, Kurt. I think Torpid's in love." Scott added.

            "I am not!" Torpid yelled as she lunged for Scott. Jean quickly froze her in the air. 

            "Kurt, why don't you show Torpid what your bedroom looks like?" Jean suggested as she moved her back into Kurt's lap.

            "Yeah… C'mon, Torpid." Kurt said as he helped her get her glove back on.

            "Hey, what about me?" Amanda said. "How long will this last?" Kurt looked down at Torpid and she smiled innocently again as she shrugged her shoulders.

            "Why don't you go see if you can help Kitty in the kitchen… with your one arm?" Kurt answered before he teleported Torpid and himself away sooner than Amanda could react.

*BAMF!*

            "Some boyfriend he is." Amanda grumbled as she got up and walked away, her hand still extended in a handshake.

            "Man, bro, is it always like this?" Alex asked, finally breaking away from the football game on TV.

            "Yeah, pretty much." Scott replied.

            "Wow, I dunno if I could live here."

            "You get used to it… you even grow to miss it if you ever leave." Scott tried to convince him.

            "Hey, who's that chick at the door with the purple hair?" Alex changed the subject.

            "That's Betsy." Scott said. Jean narrowed her eyes at the enthusiasm with which he spoke.

            "Hmmm…" Alex pondered as he glared at her at the door. "I dunno if I trust her…"

            "What? You don't even know her."

            "Scott, if he doesn't trust her, he doesn't trust her." Jean tried to end the conversation.

            "Bad vibes, man. She gives me bad vibes…" Alex continued to glare at her as she talked to Evan at the door. "It's half time, bro. I'm gonna get some more sodas. When I come back, I have to tell you all about the girl I met on the plane ride over here. She had bright green hair." Alex said with a twinkle in his eye as he got up and walked to the kitchen. "I think I'm love." Scott just shook his head and rolled his eyes at his brother. 

            "Scott, I haven't shown you everything… have I?" Jean drew his attention. 

            "What? Everything?" Scott asked, certain there wasn't anything she hadn't told him.

            "About my powers… they've changed." She replied. "Here, let me show you." She adjusted herself beside him on the sofa. He watched her as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she slowly reopened them. "Take off your glasses." She instructed him.

            "Jean, my--"

            "Just do it." She cut him off, maintaining a mellow disposition. He hesitated quite a bit, making her rather frustrated by his lack of trust. She was just about to pull them off herself when he relented and slipped them off. As he removed his glasses, Jean went back to concentrating, only to find he'd kept his eyes shut. "Open 'em." Jean ordered.

            "Jean, is this saf--"

            "Please trust me, Scott." She pleaded. "My powers… I can handle it. Let me show you." He sighed and slightly shook his head, about to say no when his heart overtook his mind. He slowly lifted his eyelids, bracing for the impact his optic blasts would have on the coffee table. He was both surprised and relived when nothing happened. Scott blinked his eyes a few times and rolled them around in his head, making sure they were stable before he looked up at Jean. "See. I told you."

            "Yeah, I see." He replied.

            "It's like the Phoenix stretched out my powers, and instead of them shrinking back to me, I'm expanding to fit them." She said as she took his hand in her own. "When was the last time I told you how beautiful your eyes are?" Her voice turned almost to a whisper as she moved closer to Scott.

            "Too long." He muttered as they both shut their eyes to move in to kiss.

            "Hey, Jean, can I talk to you for a sec.?" They both stopped dead and looked up to see Betsy standing in front of them, beaming with pride at her timing.

            "Sure." Jean grumbled bitterly as she and Scott sat back up. Betsy sat down on the sofa next to Jean and Scott tried not to listen in on their conversation, watching football.

            "I know things between you and I haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot and I don't know whose fault it truly is… but I'd like to say I'm sorry." Jean perked up at Betsy's statement, turning to look her in the eye instead of giving her a cold shoulder.

            "I'm listening." Jean said distantly.

            "Well, when I came here, I had all sorts of expectations, and I never really thought that I'd be anything other than… well… the princess." Jean gave her a look that showed her just how crazy her hopes were. "Right, and… I never meant to challenge you and your position here. I know you're the professor's queen bee, and I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you had to fight for your place."

            "I'm sorry too." Jean acquiesced after a moment of silence. "I mean, you and I should be friends. We could learn so much from each other." Betsy smiled honestly. "I'm sorry I didn't try very hard to make you feel welcome when you got here." Jean finally turned her whole body to face Betsy. "Now I have a question for you." Betsy nodded her to go on. "Why didn't you tell me?" Jean's question left her confused, not knowing what she was talking about. "I know you knew before… you even once called me Pho--"

            "Would it have made any difference?" Betsy asked Jean before she could finish. Jean had no answer.

            "I just wish I knew…" Jean mumbled, leaving a moment of awkward silence hanging over them both.

            "Oh! Scott! Your eyes!" Betsy changed the subject as she saw Scott without his shades.

            "Oh yeah." Scott as he realized Jean was still holding back his powers, despite her lack of attention. "You really are powerful now…"  He mumbled to Jean.

            "Wow, it's been quite a while since I've seen those chocolaty brown eyes…" Betsy continued in a wispy, sultry voice.

            "Thanks." Scott said humbly, slightly blushing. Jean seriously considered letting go of her control over Scott's optic beams to let him blast Betsy in the face when she was interrupted.

            "Ahem." They all three looked up to see Warren standing over them, glaring at Betsy.

            "Oh, Warren, how are you?" Betsy said as if she didn't notice his obvious discomfort with the way she was acting toward Scott. He glanced over to Scott who looked up at him innocently. Warren sighed, deciding there was probably nothing to worry about.

            "I'm feeling cooped up in here. I need to stretch my wings." He answered.

            "Aww… poor baby." Betsy exaggerated. "But it's only been about a week, I doubt they can even support your own weight yet."  She stood up and took his hand, leading him a few steps away from Scott and Jean. "But I could kiss them to and make them feel better." Warren smiled, knowing her entire focus was on him. 

            "Could you?" He pleaded coyly. Betsy nodded, smiled, and shut her eyes as she kissed him on the lips. "Uh… not that I'm complaining… but I think you missed." He whispered as she reopened her eyes.

            "Oh, silly me. I'll have to try again." She leaned in again, and this time when she kissed Warren, he was ready for it. "Oops."

            "I guess you'll just have to keep practicing 'til you get it right." Warren said. She smiled and led him toward the kitchen. "Whoa! No way! Are you crazy? It's a battlefield in there!" Warren exclaimed as he tried to dig his heels in the ground. 

            "Trust me." Betsy replied.

            "Kitty! What are you doing?! I told you to bake at 350 degrees for two hours!" Storm shouted across the counter in the middle of the kitchen.

            "Dinner is supposed to be served in, like, an hour. I thought I could cook it at 450 degrees and it would be ready in time!" Kitty shouted back while she fished around in the oven. Alex was standing over some odd, half raw, half burnt dish, applying his plasma heat. He looked back at Betsy and Warren in complete fear.

            "Help me." Alex whispered quietly.

            "It doesn't work like that!" Ororo yelled at Kitty again.

            "Okay, I'm sorry." Kitty turned around from the oven, holding the dish she'd just removed. It was too hot though,  and she accidentally phased her hands, dropping the glass casserole dish on the floor, shattering it and spilling the food on the ground.

            "Kitty!" Ororo chided.

            "I'm sorry!" Kitty screamed back, completely frustrated. 

            "Why don't we take a break!?" Betsy interrupted.

            "A break from what? Dinner's in a hour." Ororo said, hot and fed up.

            "Kitty, don't worry about it." Betsy said as both girls bent down to pick up the mess. 

            "Will you go find Rogue as see how long to cook her stuffing for?" Kitty ignored Betsy's suggestion. 

            "Alright, how 'bout this: Kitty, you go find Lance and take a break. I'm sure he's driving the professor mad about Australia. Alex, go watch the match with your brother… Jean is driving _him mad." Betsy lied. "Roro, will you go ask Rogue about her _dray-sin_?" Betsy mocked Rogue's southern accent._

            "But what about--" Kitty started.

            "Don't worry." Betsy reassured her. "We've got plenty of food, and don't think anybody would have eaten baked asparagus anyway." Kitty looked at Betsy and gave her a labored sigh before she got up to leave, untying her apron and tossing it on the cluttered counter beside the oven. Alex cautiously followed her out, hoping no one would notice as he made his escape. Betsy carefully went to work picking glass shards up off the floor.

            "Logan is supposed to be back with the cranberry sauce soon When he--"

            "I'll handle it." Betsy interrupted Storm's instruction.

            "And the turkey--"

            "I know, bottom oven every 15 minutes for another hour." Betsy cut her off again.

            "And just put Rogue's stuffing in at 350 degrees until it gets brown on the top." 

            "Alright, go enjoy your nephew." Betsy ordered her as she dropped asparagus in the trash. Storm smiled tiredly as she untied her apron.

            "Thanks, Betsy." Storm said one last thing.

            "It's no trouble." Betsy called out to her as she left the kitchen, passing Warren. "See, we're all alone." Betsy said to Warren after a moment of silence. He walked over to Betsy and put his hands on her hips, pressing her back up against the counter by the oven.

            "So about that practice you're supposed to be working on?" He smiled at her.

            "Oh right." She said as she put her hands on his face. "Just let me stick Rogue's stuffing in the oven…"

*          *          *

            Rogue and Remy sat on the roof, just looking out at the late afternoon sky. Remy was smoking a cigarette, but Rogue stuck close to him anyway to keep herself warm.

            "That's gonna kill you someday." Rogue said. "An Ah know you got too much t'live for."

            "I'll work on it." He humored her. She just rolled her eyes and put her head on his chest, knowing what she was saying was just going in one ear and out the other. He put his free hand around her lower back, resting his hand on her hip, just above the strip of bare skin between her skirt and top.

            "You gonna see your father soon?" She asked him.

            "I don' need anythin' from him." Remy answered simply. "You gonna call Irene?" He changed the focus from himself as he took another puff on his cigarette.

            "Ah haven't spoken to her since she sent me with Mystique…" Rogue was surprised her own ungratefulness. She'd always loved Destiny as her mother, but harbored a grudge she never knew she had. "Ah should go see her." There was a comfortable silence as she listened to the sound of his heart beat beneath his shirt.

            "Hey! What was 'at for?!" Remy shouted after having been smacked on the back of the head. 

            "I told you 'bout that smokin', Gumbo… it's a nasty habit." Logan said, announcing his presence on the roof. Remy put out his cigarette then tossed it off the roof. "Nobody's seen either of you in a long time and they sent me to turn a hose on ya if I had to."

            "In that case, we'll give ya somethin' t'do." Remy said as he suddenly attacked Rogue, trying to give her a kiss. He had her pinned down on her back while she laughed and tried to keep him away.

            "No! No!" She begged excitedly. 

            "Aww… c'mon, chère, why not?" He asked.

            "Cuz Ah'm not gonna waste any of our limited number of kisses on your nasty cigarette breath." She replied. He simply smiled at her as he closed his eyes and kissed her forehead.

            "Dinner's on soon. I'm gonna go watch the football game." Logan said, interrupting his own awkward moment. "Keep your hands t'yourself, French Fry." Then Logan climbed off the roof and back inside.

*          *          *

            "Let me take a break for a sec. I need to prepare the cranberry sauce." Betsy said, pulling herself away from Warren.

            "Can't it wait?" He wined.

            "No, it won't take long." Betsy said as she fished through the drawers for a can opener. "I just need to put it in a bowl and stir it a bit."

            "Stir it?!" Warren shouted in disbelief. "You can't stir it! Cranberry sauce is meant to retain the shape of the can!"

            "And you, what, just cut off slices? That's rather odd…"

            "No, it's tradition." Warren explained. 

            "Oh… well, in that case…" Betsy said slyly, pulling Warren closer to her by snaking a hand around the back of his neck. Warren kissed her and tried to wrap his wings around them both, but they were tied by bandages. She lifted herself up on a free space on the island counter and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. There they sat, engrossed in each other with Thanksgiving dinner displayed all around them, waiting to be served. Suddenly, Betsy pulled away from him. She had the expression of utter, petrifying fear.

            "What is it?" Warren asked, alarmed.

            "My brother." Betsy answered. Then the doorbell rang.

*          *          *

            "I'll get it!" Kitty shouted as she ran down the stairs toward the front door. Betsy jumped off the counter and ran to the threshold where the kitchen emptied into the foyer. She poked her head out to see Kitty opening the door. She couldn't stand to watch so she pulled herself back into the kitchen and started pacing back and forth.

            "What is it?" Warren asked.

            "It's my brother." Betsy said again.

            "Did you invite him?"

            "Yes." Betsy answered.

            Then why are you so worried?" Warren was fishing for a clue.

            "I just left him a message…. I haven't spoken to him since my parents died… I didn't think he'd actually come… I know he blames me… why shouldn't he?"

            "Betsy, you know better than that." Warren tried to comfort her, but she was so petrified, she shut her eyes and probed Kitty's mind to eavesdrop on their conversation at the door.     

            "Wow…" Kitty's mouth dropped as she opened the door. He was tall and blonde with a square jaw and broad shoulders. Even though he was dressed rather nicely, it was easy to see he was well built underneath. His blue eyes sparkled in amazement at the scene around him.

            "Uh… hello…" Although he only spoke a little, his strong British accent was quite clear.

            "Oh, you must be Brian… I'm Kitty." She blushed as she extended her hand for a handshake.

            "A pleasure, I'm sure." Brian said as he cautiously took her hand. Kitty looked him intently in the eye, hoping to will him to being interested in her, but she only weirded him out.

            "Uh, Kitty, you were looking for me?" Lance interrupted her gaze.

            "Oh, yeah." She smiled. "Betsy! Your brother's here!!" Kitty shouted as she walked off with Lance. For a moment, Brian was left alone. He wasn't sure if he should come inside and shut the door or make a run for it. He decided to take a step inside when Scott and Jean blew past him.

            "Excuse me." Jean said without a second thought about the stranger in her home.

            "Sorry!" Scott said, bumping into Brian as Jean pulled him out the front door. Brian just nodded, not sure what to say to the guy with red sunglasses as the day was nearing night.

            "Hi." A soft voice came from the top of the stairs in front of him. "I'm Amanda." She said as she walked toward him, now able to work the stiffness out her arm.

            "Brian Braddock." He introduced himself.

            "Oh, you must be looking for Betsy." She concluded. He nodded meekly. Amanda wasn't surprised such a strong looking man could be afraid of the Xavier Institute, and didn't make him feel at all uncomfortable. "Betsy! Your both--"

            "She'll be right out!" Warren replied for her.

            "Do you live here?" Brian made small talk with Amanda while he waited.

            "Oh, no, my boyfriend lives here… He's around here somw--"

            "Bea." Brian interrupted Amanda when he saw a petite Asian girl with purple hair step out of the kitchen.

            "B." Betsy said back. Amanda looked at each of them. They were both too afraid of each other to move, waiting for the other to do something first. Finally, Amanda walked over to Betsy and grabbed her hand. She led her toward Brian and she was no longer able to keep eye contact with her brother. He looked down at her, standing before him. After a moment of nothing, he bent down and wrapped her up in his arms. At first, she was startled and uncomfortable, but she was slowly overcome by a warm, familiar, long awaited feeling. She put her hands around him too, and reveled in his smell that she hadn't smelled in a long time.

            "I've missed you so much, Betts." Brian mumbled.

            "How did you know it was me?" Betsy replied, taking a step back from him.

            "It must be a twin thing." He said. "But the purple hair was a dead giveaway." She immediately put her fingers in her hair, and put it back behind her ear, then she smiled back. 

            "I'm so sorry." She said, grabbing him another hug.

            "Sorry for what?" He chuckled.

            "For mum and dad… and Emma…" She muttered fearfully, surprised he didn't already know, and sorry she'd brought it up.

            "Are you bloody serious?" He asked contemptuously.

            "Yes…" The way she answered sounded more like a question than an affirmation.

            "Bea, love, I know you didn't do anything to mum and dad, Emma did… Is that why you haven't spoken to me in so long?" Betsy just looked down at the ground, confirming his assumption.

            "That among other things…" She added. Brian gave her a confused look, telling her to press forward with an explanation. She merely ignored him and led him by his hand to the kitchen. "C'mon, I want you to meet my boyfriend."

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

**Roguewanderer – I'll be waiting for that long, loverly review. You can go ahead and give me one now and one later, I won't mind. I'm sorry I lied about this being the last chapter… but for sure, the next will be the last. I've already written it. I'm glad you enjoyed the Kitty and Peter and Logan and Mystique. Those were my favorites!! Thanks so much for our wonderful review, and stick around for one more week!**

**Evanescence kicks ass – where have you been?!?! You write all these great reviews, and then you just don't show up for a long time??? Have you been cheating on my fan fic??! ;-P sorry, that was just me being retarded. Never fear, this was NOT the last chapter. One more to go and it's great, I promise. I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter… as for Pyro, Wanda and Lance; you'll just have to wait for next week. And as for Carol… well, she didn't have whatever it was that made her special anymore. As to what that means exactly, I guess we'll never know. Sequel… hmm... I've gotten quite a bit of requests for one, but I don't really have any ideas yet. If I do write one, it'll be a while. Just keep on the look out. Stick around for next week!! Thanks for the reviews!!**

**Helios – I'm glad you like my fic despite the great amount of Lancitty. To be honest, it was supposed to more of a Kiotr because Lancitty makes me barf, but the way the story worked out, I had to put in a bit of Lancitty, and I put it on the summary thingy to get readers… so I'm a media whore, what can I say? Anypoop, like I said, I'm glad you like it despite. I hope you stick around for next week!!**

**Aro – You seem to be reading regularly, so even though you miss the updates, I still won't sick the MFFNA on you. I'm glad you like the last two chapters, and I hope like this one, and the next one just as much!! I'm sorry I said this was my last, but it isn't, so stick around, next one IS the last. And thanks so much for the reviews!!**

**Sickmindedsucker – I still can't over that name, I love it!! It's okay, at least you are reviewing, that's true. I hate it when your mind just blinks out… especially when it comes to homework. Anyway, enough of my sad slacker life. I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one too. I also hope you like the next one… the real last one… and thank you SO much for the reviews!!**

**SassyGrl024 – Yay for LTRFTRs! (Long time readers, first time reviewers!) I'm glad you enjoy the romy, and there is some in this chappie… only a bit in the next, but there's so much going on in the REAL last chapter, you'll hardly miss it. Thank you so much for the review, and stick around for next week!!!**

**Lexi – never fear, still ONE more chapter left. I'm glad you like all the resolution, but everything will be TOTALLY resolved in the next chapter, so stick around, and write me more reviews!! Thanks so much!!**

**Aimbtj – Okay, that was obviously not the last chapter, and neither is this, like I said. Thank you so much for your wonderful review, and I'm glad you like the Jott. There's some Jott in this chappie, and the next. You should be pleased!! So stick around. Next week will be the final chapter. This is chapter 37, and 38 will be the last, just so there's no confusion. Thanks so much for the reviews!!!**

**Ishandahalf – Oooohhh!! A gold star!! I'll have to add it my brownie points!! I'm so glad you like my Carol, I was really proud of myself. Thank you so much, your reviews always make me so happy. It's one constant I can cling to in this ever changing life… ;-P One last chapter left… I'll be waiting!!**

**Red Knight Le Yoda – When you get this far… yay!! I'm glad you like the beginning of the story, and I hope you like it all the way to the end! Thanks for your review, and any future reviews to come! **

**DemonRogue – Ooooohhhh long time, no review!! Short and sweet, great review!! I hope you like this chapter and the next just as much!! Thank you so much for the review!**

**Sophie (Lady Farevay) – I'm so happy you liked the last chapter, I hope you like this one just as much. And no tears, there's still one more chance to uh… read my fan fic. Stick around for the real last chapter, coming next week. I can't wait for the last lovely review, but of course, all the previous ones have been lovely as well! Stick around!!  **

**And one last notice for all you people who read, and have yet to review: After this, there's only one last chance… come one, I'm waiting. I better get about 15 more reviews than I usually do Next Week!! ;-P**


	38. Chapter 38

Okay everyone, no surprises this time. This is the last chapter. The end. There's no more. Please reserve your tears and standing ovations for the end of the performance. And, I would appreciate it if all roses were de-thorned _before_ they were tossed at my feet. It's so sad it's finally over. I've spent so much time and effort trying to make good fan fic, and I hope I succeeded in giving you all some worth wile enjoyment. A lot of you have asked about a sequel, and truth be told, I don't have one in the works yet… maybe… after a nice, long, break.  With Evo being cancelled and all, it's hard to get a base to start writing on… but I guess I'll just have to write my own episodes. Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews!! It's always the highlight of my day to find new fan letters in my inbox, and the encouragement means so much to me!! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            

            "_Everyone, dinner is served._" The professor called out to his students, and faculty, and their families and guests from the large banquet style dining room as he sat at the head of the long table. Cecelia and Hank took their seats to Xavier's right side after having set the table. Within thirty seconds, everyone bursted into the room and fought over which seat to sit in. By the time all was said and done, on Xavier's right was Cecelia, Hank, Toad, Amanda, then an extra chair Torpid had pulled up the table for herself, Kurt, Lance, Kitty, Peter, Peter's mother, Peter's father, Pyro and Wanda. To the professor's left were two empty seats, then Alex, Brian, Betsy, Warren, Remy, Rogue, Logan, Evan, Storm, Blob and Pietro. Sitting at the opposite end of the table from Xavier, between his two children, was Magneto. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone." He professor finally quieted them all.

            "Forgive me, sir, for speaking out of turn…"

            "Mother! Shhh!!" Peter cut off the elder woman.

            "No, Peter, it's quite alright." Xavier stopped him. "But to be perfectly honest, Mrs. Rasputin, I don't think anyone here ever speaks _in_ turn." Mrs. Rasputin smiled, then continued.

            "I'm not sure I understand the meaning of Thanksgiving." She asked politely while Peter sighed with embarrassment. 

            "It's a good question, Peter." The professor reassured him. "Especially for someone who's not from America. Do _you_ know the meaning of Thanksgiving?" He asked Peter. Peter just hung his head and shook it, embarrassed at his own ignorance. "Would anyone like to explain the meaning of Thanksgiving to the any family members we have here who are not from the United States?" For along time, no one wanted to answer for fear of standing out or giving the wrong answer. 

            "In 1623, puritans, a religious minority in England--" Hank started. Betsy and Brian looked at each other and smiled at their own historical participation in the holiday.

            "Hank," The professor interrupted him. "This is not the time for a history lesson. Perhaps just the symbolic meaning would suffice?"

            "Oh, right." Hank smiled. "Well, the purpose of Thanksgiving is to take time out of your year to think of things you are gracious for, family in particular. Hence, we have the large dinner to celebrate and enjoy a meal with everyone we love." He explained. His story made everyone smile.

            "Perhaps we should go around the table and say what we're thankful for this year." The professor suggested. "Cecelia, not to single you out, but why don't you start?" Everyone looked at her, making her blush.

            "Hmmm… what I'm thankful for…" Cecelia thought aloud. "Well, I'm thankful for being able to be myself, and being where I truly belong." She smiled and looked up, waiting for a reaction.

            "Here! Here!" Storm shouted as she raised her glass of water and soon, everyone else joined in the chorus line.

            "Hank, you're up next." The professor said once everyone settled down.

            "Well, I'm glad, first of all, that everyone is conscious." He started, sending a chuckle down the table. "I'm thankful for the end of the legacy virus… and for the hope that Carol finds what she's looking for." No one knew what to say in response, but Cecelia took his big, blue, furry hand in her own and gave him a comforting smile.

            "Amanda, how about--" The professor began to move on.

            "Hey! No one wants to now what I'm thankful for?" Toad interrupted after having been skipped over.

            "Sorry, Mr. Tolensky, how silly of me." The professor excused himself. "Please, continue."

            "Okay… okay…" Toad thought quickly. "I'm thankful for… Wanda!" He shouted. Everyone grumbled and rolled their eyes at him. Wanda just blushed. 

            "I'm thankful for Kurt." Amanda interrupted, shortly and sweetly. "And I'm NOT thankful for Torpid--" Amanda was cut off when Torpid reached her hand out to touch Amanda and Amanda ended up leaning back into Toad's lap to evade her. Kurt grabbed Torpid's arm and took the shock that was meant for Amanda, leaving him frozen in place over Torpid. "Oh, Kurt!" Amanda swooned over his chivalry. Kurt just mumbled behind stone solid lips. Torpid giggled again, pleased with where she'd left Kurt.

            "We'll move on to Lance." The professor kept things going with a smile.

            "Well… I guess I'm thankful for learning from mistakes… even if they aren't mine." He started. Kitty took his hand in her lap and with his free hand he raised his glass of soda and continued. "To the first international branch of the Xavier Institute, so another scared and lonely kid doesn't make the wrong choices. To the X-Corp in Australia!" Everyone else raised their glass and cheered in agreement. Kitty was happy for Lance, but not as happy as everyone else as she clutched his hand. When things settled down, Lance looked over to her. "Alright, Kitty, it's your turn."  It took her a moment to think.

            "Well, I'm thankful for… all my friends." Kitty said, smiling at Kurt even though he couldn't turn to smile back, and then at Rogue. "I'm also thankful for old enemies turned new allies." She said, giving a smile to Lance at one side, then to Peter at the other.

            "You're next, Peter." Xavier said.

            "I am grateful for my family." Peter began. "To be doing good and making them proud…" Then he paused and looked down at the pristine plate on the table in front of him. "And for having been able to say goodbye." His words made his mother burst into tears. Kitty took his hand under the table with her free one, letting him know he wasn't alone, while Peter's mother cried on his shoulder.

            "Oh, Piotr, we are so thankful for our son who has always made us proud." Mrs. Rasputin said through her own tears. "And we are thankful for _you._" She said as she pointed at Cecelia. "And you." Pointing to Hank. "And you." She pointed over her husband's lap on her other side at Pyro. They were all afraid at first. Her hysterical tone made them fear they'd done something wrong despite the context of her statements. "You all fought and gave so much of yourselves to make sure no one else suffered like our daughter. For that, I am so thankful." Mr. Rasputin pulled her over to cry on his shoulder to not be a burden on his obedient son.

            "_We_ thank you all." Mr. Rasputin spoke for the first time and tried to comfort his wife. Everyone was solemn and tried not feel sorry for the Rasputins.

            "Pyro, perhaps you'd like to continue." The professor left them to comfort each other and distract everyone else.

            "Uhh… alright…" Pyro mumbled. "I dunno how you follow an act like that one…" He put his hand on the table and fumbled with his silverware. "Alright… I'm thankful for… my beautiful bird." He said as he looked to his side at Wanda.

            "Yeah, yeah." Toad mocked him.

            "Hey, listen, frog face, if you get to be thankful for her, so do I!" Pyro shouted across the table, standing up to defend himself, after one snide comment too many.

            "Gentlemen--" The professor tried to diffuse the situation.

            "Pyro!" Wanda shouted. "Lay off the Toad." Pyro looked down at her and sat back down in his chair. Toad made a whipping noise to mock Wanda's control over him. Pyro prepared to stand up again, the flames of the candle sticks on the table flaring up with his emotions, when Wanda grabbed his arm. "He's just jealous, leave him alone." Pyro smiled at Wanda and proceeded to ignore Toad. "Okay, well I'm thankful for--" Wanda started.

            "Hey, wait a second, sheila." Pyro interrupted her. "You don't think you're _all_ I'm thankful for, do ya?" Wanda rolled her eyes and signaled for him to continue. "I'm also thankful for…" He paused for a second as he looked down at one end of the table toward Magneto, and then over at Xavier on the other. "For choosin' the right side." There was a moment of silence as one half of the table smiled, and the other sighed.

            "For even havin' the choice." Remy added as he raised his glass and toasted him. Wanda then smiled over at Pyro.

            "Okay, _now _it's my turn." Wanda said, taking the floor. "I'm thankful for knowing the truth." She said as she glared at her father. "And for the opportunity to finally decide what's right for me." Everyone smiled again, happy for her. 

            "Alright, Alex, you're up." The professor moved on to the other side of the table.

            "Okay… I _would_ be thankful to be here with my bro… but… uh… he seems to be spending it more with his girlfriend…" Alex trailed off.

            "Hmmm… I wonder why Jean and Scott have chosen to forego such a feast…" The professor announced sarcastically. "Is that all, Alex?"

            "I'm also thankful for my mom and dad." Alex shrugged his shoulders, stating what he thought to be a cliché. "And, for always having somewhere to go if I need it."

            "Thank you, Alex." Xavier said. "Mr. Braddock, we are all happy to have you here. Do you have anything you'd like to add?"

            "Well, I'm thankful for silly Americans who create holidays just for eating a meal… with your family." Brian replied as he looked to Betsy at his side.

            "Me too." Betsy said in a transition to her piece. "And for having taken a step back so that maybe I can take two steps forward." She tried hard not to look up at anyone, feeling their stares tinged with pity, so she just turned her bowed head toward Warren. Warren just glared at her and cleared his throat. "Oh, right, and for my Angel." She said, making everyone chuckle.

            "I'm thankful to have somewhere to go while my parents are in Paris." Warren continued, satisfied with Betsy's response. "And for all of you who pulled me back to Earth when I couldn't do it myself… and for Betsy." Warren smiled, making her blush. 

            "Alright, my turn." Remy said. "I'm thankful to be here where I can learn all the things I was s'posed to, but never did. I'm thankful for honesty… forgiveness… and f'r havin' no debts hangin' over my head." He paused and looked down at his clean plate. "And for Rogue."

            "Ah'm thankful for you too, Remy." Rogue began. "And Ah'm thankful for this." She cautiously picked up his fingerlessly gloved hand out of his lap, and brushed his bare knuckles across her cheek. She lost herself in the feeling, and Remy wasn't about to take it away from her, until she got a spark. She dropped his hand and saw everyone around the table still staring at her. "Oh, yeah." She blushed and thought quickly. "And Ah'm also thankful for all 'a y'all." Her quick thinking began to take on a life of its own. "Ah mean, Ah never had a family like this before. Here, Ah have fathers and mothers, and sisters… and brothers… And though Ah don't say it enough… it means the world t'me." Everyone stopped to ponder the meaning of her words. Kurt was still frozen over Torpid, but he finally managed to roll his head around.

            "Here! Here!" Kurt said, looking at his glass of water, yet, unable to raise it.

            "Here! Here!" Everyone followed his lead. When they all quieted down, Remy helped move things along.

            "What about you, M'sieu Logan, what're you thankful for?" Remy smiled, happy to see Logan squirm under the interrogation lamp. Logan slid down slightly in his chair and grumbled as the focus was squarely on him.

            "Let's just say I'm thankful, and leave it at that." Logan said, bursting Remy's bubble to hear Logan gush about how much he truly loved them all. "Your turn, porcupine." Logan quickly tossed away the spotlight.

            "Uh… okay… let's see… I'm thankful for breathing…" Evan said, putting a hand up on the bandages around his chest, just for those who weren't sure what he meant. "I'm also thankful for my Auntie O--"

            "To Ororo!" Hank interrupted him, the entire table erupting in another chorus line, making Storm blush.

            "And I'm so thankful to have a place where I truly belong. Even if I'm never around, don't think that I don't put to good use all that I learned here and what this place has shown me. I know that it didn't seem like that when I _was _here, but after having been on the other side… I'm so thankful." Evan finished.

            "I'm thankful to have my nephew here, safe and sound." Storm started. "As well as all of you. The X-Men are my life, and to lose any one of you… I'm just thankful that I haven't."

            "To good health." Cecelia added calmly from her place and raising her glass of wine. Everyone raised their glasses too, half the children finishing them off after so many toasts. 

            "Mr. Dukes, have you anything you're thankful for?" Xavier asked, nearing the end of the table.

            "Uh, yeah." Blob answered dimly. ""I'm thankful for all this food; let's eat!" He shouted, beginning to dig into the steaming dish in front of him. The students all laughed and followed his lead.

            "Just a second!" Pietro yelled, making everyone stop. "Believe it or not, I _am_ thankful for stuff." He announced, causing some of the students to giggle a little.

            "Let's hurry it up, Speedy." Wanda mocked him. He gave her a dirty look then took a second to formulate his words. 

            "I'm thankful for my sister, and that she's finally found some peace." He said, making Kitty and Amanda awe over his sensitivity. "And for second chances… to make things the way they were meant to be." He said, looking to his father. There was a moment of silence before Kurt interrupted, Torpid's paralysis having worn off enough for him to sit straight up in his seat.

            "I'm thankful for food too!" Kurt said. "Now let's eat!" 

            "Wait!!" Kitty shouted before anyone could get started. "We're still not finished." She said. "What're you thankful for, professor?" Everyone looked toward the end of the table at Xavier, making him smile.

            "Why, I'm thankful for all of you, of course." He started. "You all give me purpose and hope. I'm so proud to have devoted my life to people as unique and talented and intelligent as each and every one of you. I'm thankful for all that has happened in the past and what we may learn from it, as well as the future, and whatever it may hold." Then he raised his glass and glared at Magnus at the other end of the table. "And for taking the time to set aside our differences."

            "For embracing them." Magnus added simply before he sipped his wine in toast. 

            "Alright then." The professor said. "_Now_, let's eat!"

*          *          *

            "Jean, where are we going?" Scott asked as she dragged him through the woods around the mansion.

            "Away." She answered without looking back at him. Her hair had the faintest glow as it reflected the last slivers of sunset in the late fall evening. The cool cloud of their breaths that was best seen at night was nearly completely visible as they weaved through brush and trees to get to their destination.. Finally Jean stopped to let him rest as they reached a clearing.

            "Here?" He asked as he panted for air. "Why did we come here?" He growled when he saw the lake.

            "We have unfinished business." Jean replied as she slowly walked over to the dock.

            "What are you talking about?" Scott said, having to take off his sunglasses to wipe the sweat from his brow. "That water has to be two degrees!" 

            "Not for long." She said, raising her hands a slight bit higher than her shoulders. Her eyes glowed orange and white while a fire burned within her. . A rush of air blew her hair about as well as the fallen leaves on the banks of the lake. The winds blew not across the surface of the water, but from it. She rotated every single water molecule, faster and faster, heating the lake like a microwave with her advanced telekinesis. The gale turned from a frigid cold to the temperature of a tepid bath. She let the water rest and proceeded to take off her shoes and rolled up her jeans.

            "Uh, Jean?" Scott said, stepping up beside her. Instead of explaining, she started to untie Scott's shoes for him. "What are you doing?"

            "Taking a break." She said, sitting down on the edge of the dock and dipping her feet in the warm water.

            "Aren't you hungry?" He posed while continuing to take off his shoes and socks.

            "A little." She answered, shrugging her shoulders. "There'll be plenty of leftovers." She patted the space beside her, beckoning him to sit next to her.

            "With Kurt _and_ Blob?" He asked jokingly. 

            "I'm sure." She smiled as he dipped his feet in along with her. Scott just stared at her as she closed her eyes to take in a deep breath. The blue twilight sky glowed off her fair skin. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She said, startling him out of his reverie. He just smiled and nodded at her. "It's so quiet." She said.

            "Jean?"

            "Yes, Scott?"

            "I'm so thankful you're back." He said.

            "I'm thankful to be back." Jean replied. "Back home… and in my own skin…with you." She smiled at him and he smiled back, leaving a moment of comfortable silence. She looked up at him and curled her fingers, pulling his glasses off his face and holding back his eye beams at the same time. Being alone and outside, he allowed himself to trust her completely, and he plucked his shades out of the air and put them in his pocket. She put a hand on his shoulder, straightening a wrinkle on his dark blue sweater. He put his palm on her face and she shut her eyes as she nestled it. He shut his eyes, feeling her let go of her control over his powers to fully devote her attention to him while he leaned in closer to her. For the first time since they met, their lips touched in complete, undisturbed quiet. Even after they finished their kiss, they lingered close together, hoping to hold on to the feeling. Jean took back control of his optic blasts and they both opened their eyes. Scott took her hand and just watched the steam rising off the surface of the lake while Jean rested her head on his shoulder and joined him in his gaze.

            And there they sat, together, picking up right where they left off before they were so rudely interrupted.

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**                                                                                              The End**

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**Aro** – Sequel?... I dunno, like I said… No sneaky surprises this time, delivered as advertised. I'm so glad you liked this chapter, and I hope you liked the whole thing!! Thank you so much for all of your kind reviews!!

**Caliente** – I'm glad you liked all the resolution… and the saying is true, all good things must come to an end… :*(  Another person who doesn't like Lancitty!! I thought I was the only one on the whole planet!! And the Mikhail thing… I just wanted to give some resolution to the massacre. In the comics none really talked about Mikhail much since he was so powerful and insane… so I'm going to leave it at that. Well, I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one just as much!! Thank you so much for your reviews!!

**SassyGrl024** – I'm glad you liked the romy, there's some in this one too, and I hope you like it as well! I'm so glad you liked my story, and like I said at the top, I dunno yet. You'll just have to keep me on watch… Anyhoosle, I hope you like this chapter as well, and thank you so much for your reviews!!

**Sophie (Lady Farevay)** – I'm soooo sorry for being evil… can you ever forgive me?? I'm so glad you liked my adaptation of Psylocke… I wonder sometimes if she's not a bit too Mary Sue-ish… oh well, too late for changes now… and of course, Amanda is always a doll, no matter how weird she is! I'm happy you enjoyed the romy, I hope there's enough in this chappy for ya! Okay.. uhh… I don't have any other stuff right now… but watch out for it in the future, you never know. OOoohh!! I know what I could do for my next piece, the Sophie (Lady Farevay) Dictionary. I'll miss that!!! Don't ever think your reviews are crappy, because no matter how sarcastic or rambley they may be, they always make me smile!! Thank you so much!!

**SickmindedSucker** – I hope this is a big bang like you were expecting! And if you're crying yet, please pass the tissues… :*( Thank you so much for your encouraging reviews!! They make me so happy!!

**RogueFan** – I'm so excited you like my fic, and thank you so much for your compliments! Yes, I was indeed talking about Polaris, and I'm happy you like my adaptations. I'm glad I could clear up some things for you, even if it is with my own spin (at least, that's why I think Evan wouldn't come back…) Thank you so much for your reviews, and the jury is still out on the sequel idea…

**MidniteAngelGoth** – Goodness you're high maintenance!! ;-P I'm sorry I couldn't add in too much more Romy, you'll just have to go back and read the fluffiest of chapters!! Although, there is a little bit of Romy in this chappie too. I'm so happy you like my fic, it means so much to me!! Thank you so much for your review!!

**Ishandahlaf** – I'm so happy you enjoyed all the bonding in the previous chapter!! I hope there's enough of EVERYTHING in this one to satiate you!! I doubt the end could leave as big a gaping hole in YOUR life as it does in mine!! I guess I'll just have to the void and free time by reading your fics and writing lots of wonderful reviews!! Once again, thank you SO much for all your compliments and encouragement, it means SO much to me!!

**evanescence kicks ass** – I bet you didn't see X-Corp coming, now did you?? I'm sorry to have made you wait, and I hope it was worth it. Thank you so much for all your reviews (Even if there has been a gaping hole in my heart where your kinds words belong… ;-P) I hope you love this chapter as much as all the rest!!

**Aimbtj** – Well, I hope _that_ answered all your Jott filled questions!! I'm so glad I could cater to you just for this last chapter!! I'm so glad you've enjoyed my fic, and thank you so much for all of you wonderful reviews!!

**ASGT and Kat Maximoff** – Oh, is that what the meaning of life is?? I'm so glad you like my fic, and read it all the way through, despite how it sometimes gets long winded. (I always thought it got kinda lengthy at some points too.) I hope you liked the rest of the story, and thanks for your review!!

**Roguewanderer** – You're a Brit eh? Well, I hope I have done the Brits justice! I'm glad you like all my couples, and don't cry too much at the end… it'll make me cry too… :*( I'm so glad you like my fic!! Check at the top for the explanation of anything to follow… Thank you so much for you reviews, and I'll be waiting for an even longer, loverly-er one!! Thank you so much!!

**And all you people who STILL have me on your watch list, but have NEVER reviewed** – This is your last chance!! Even if you don't review, I hope you all enjoyed the story, and keep reading for when I write more!! Thanks so much for the ego boost of seeing I'm on the author watch list of over 20 people!! 


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